


Stranger among strangers

by BobLeRigoleur



Category: Star Fox Series
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Friends to Lovers, IN SPACE!, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Violence, Romance, Science Fiction, no it's not star wars star trek or mass effect
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 64,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27123187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BobLeRigoleur/pseuds/BobLeRigoleur
Summary: After getting lost in a mysterious cosmic storm, Fox McCloud wakes up in a strange place, where other animals seems to have lost their mind and are trying to kill him, and where the only civilized people are some weird kind of partially hairless primates, who don't seem to like him either. In this hostile environment, an unexpected friendship with his sworen enemy might very well be the key for his survival.
Relationships: Fox McCloud/Wolf O'Donnell
Comments: 19
Kudos: 84





	1. Beyond the storm

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and feedbacks are always welcomed. :)

"Fox, turn around and come back!"

His paws holding firmly the yoke of his Arwing, the vulpine ignored the injunction of his feathered friend and kept pushing deeper in the mysterious storm. Behind the window, violent flashes of light and gigantic purple clouds filled the view, dancing, spinning, rushing from one side of his field of vision to another at a speed the orange canine was unable to estimate, like a furious army of ghost trying to tear the ship apart in as many pieces as there are stars in the night sky. Fox didn't pay much attention to the cataclysmic phenomenon going on around him, just as he didn't pay much attention to the orders given by his teammate over the radio. He was entirely focused on a black spot, in front of his Arwing, a spot he was chasing since what felt to him like hours. From time to time, it took a bend, revealing the outline of a familiar Wolfen.

"We will catch him another time, get yourself out of this tempest!", Falco repeated.

"There won't be another time! If it doesn't end now, it never will. I must finish this now, once and for all!"

"This is madness, look around you! You really want to put your life at risk for that?"

A part of Fox's brain tried to persuade him to follow his friend's advice, in vain. All the vulpine had in mind was putting a definitive end to the Wolf O'Donnell problem. The countless dogfights, the countless chases, the countless failures... All of this led them to this moment. A moment Fox waited for a long time, where he finally had an advantage over his rival. Indeed, the damage taken by the Wolfen was considerable. The shields were running at only a fraction of their full potential, the ship's skin was inexistent at some places, and the fact that the lupine hadn't used his weapons led Fox to infer they were inoperative. Every time the dangerousness of the tempest popped into his head to convince him to abandon the chase, that thought was obliterated by the memories their common history, comforting him in his determination. Inside the storm, every lightning, every gust, instead of inciting him to get back in safety, only made his tenacity stronger.

"His Wolfen is almost completely broken, it's only a matter of time!"

Twirling and rushing, his rival's ship kept mocking him. Wolf O'Donnell was unable to increase the distance between him and his pursuer, but Fox couldn't decrease it either. Since they both got in the storm, they were taken into what seemed to be an endless chaotic chase, none of them succeeding in taking the advantage. Around them, the universe was raging. Gigantic tornados of an unknown nature kept appearing and disappearing, seemingly randomly, as if the storm itself was trying to crush them in its mighty hands. The furious purple fog was now so dense, it was impossible to distinguish what lied out of it. Without any reference point, in this insane landscape, perpetually moving and renewing itself every second, notions like up or down seemed to have lost all of their meaning.

"Fox, I can't see you anymore. I don't even know where to look. Stop being obtuse and get out of there, we might loose contact!"

"I'm so close, Falco. I'm so close! I can almost touch him!"

Fox could feel his Arwing repeatedly and abruptly pushed in unpredictable directions, as he cut through the purple clouds that only went more numerous, more gigantic, more furious. His reflexes were overstretched from trying to correct every perturbation thrown at him. Maintaining a steady trajectory in this environment was like trying to keep balance on a basket ball inside a washing machine. A washing machine the size of a planet and designed by a schizophrenic maniac. He hold the yoke so firmly, the joints of his paws were starting to seriously hurt. The vulpine gritted his teeth and ignored the pain, the adrenaline preventing his attention from drifting away from his rival's ship. He was frustrated by his inability to discern if he was getting closer or not from his target, not being capable of properly evaluating distances inside the cataclysm, but also a bit satisfied to see the erratic movements of the Wolfen, indicating he was experiencing similar troubles.

"Fo... ush... not... ke... ent..."

"Falco? Can you hear me? Falco!"

"... ... ..."

"Slippy? Peppy? Anyone? This is Fox, answer!"

"... ... ..."

 _Great, I really needed th_ _is_ _right now,_ thought the orange canine. _Why did you have to fly into this storm, Wolf? Of all the places you could flee, why here?_

"Wolf, this is Fox speaking. Surrender, and no harm will be done to you."

"Sure!" Despite the lupine's deep voice, the sarcasm was blatant in his answer. "And while we're at it, why don't we land somewhere nice, grab a beer, chat all night, and if I feel like it I might even give you a bl-"

"Wolf, your weapons are out of use, and your ship's so damaged I can see the inside from here. There is no way you can win this!"

"Wait me outside, then. I'll get you a packet of peanuts on the way."

"You're not increasing your chances of success by staying in the storm, you're just jeopardising our lives! Let's cut the shit and get out!"

"After you, m'lady."

It was now obvious to Fox that reason was an ineffective weapon against the grey canine. Perhaps Wolf underestimated the danger of the storm, which only grew in intensity and in violence as they kept pushing deeper and deeper into it. Perhaps he was so afraid of the consequences of his capture, he would rather die and take Fox with him than surrender. Perhaps he hoped the vulpine would eventually abandon the chase... Or perhaps he was just plain stupid and foolish. The last option, after all, wasn't _that_ out of character.

As Fox's Arwing, under the repeated assault of the storm, kept shaking more and more, the orange canine started to feel the vibrations through his seat.

_This isn't right. The G-diffusers are supposed to compensate the acceleration of the ship. I shouldn't feel anything, at least not anything that strong. What is happening?_

As if the tempest heard his thoughts, a lightning bolted right above his Arwing, snapping him back into reality. He decided to put up with the shaking and to keep pursuing the lupine. His brain produced a small warning, a warning that his obsession of arresting his rival in such conditions could lead him to an avoidable death, but that thought was quickly trampled and erased by the intense focus required to chase a Wolfen inside a cosmic storm. He had to catch Wolf, he'll worry about the rest later.

"I'm getting closer, soon you'll be within firing range. Surrender or I'll shoot you down. This is your only warning!"

"It's fun- Ouch!"

The orange canine was briefly taken aback by this unexpected answer.

"What was that?", he asked.

"I was saying: it's funny you say that, becau-"

Suddenly, a series of violent lightnings stroked the Wolfen in front of Fox, illuminating his own cabin like if he was ten meters from the sun, facing it. The intensity of the light made him instantaneously close his eyes and put both his paws before them, but the flash was still printed in his field of vision by retinal persistence. It took some seconds for the remnant of the flash to disappear, allowing the vulpine to open his eyes and to take back the control of his Arwing. Around him, the same storm was still raging. The Wolfen, however, was out of sight.

_Wait, what? Where did he go?_

Fox started to look around frenetically, trying to inspect all of his surroundings as fast as he could. If Wolf slipped away in an unexpected direction, given the density of the fog, a few seconds would be enough for him to be completely out of reach. If the vulpine failed to find him back in this short time span, this whole chase would have been for nothing. He flipped his ship, again, and again, looking everywhere around him, desperate for his eyes to land back on the Wolfen, without success. It took him a moment to realize he has, once again, lost against Wolf. This frenetic race has, once again, resulted in a failure.

 _Shit. Shit. Shit shit shit!_ thought Fox, as he kicked repeatedly the bottom of the cockpit to evacuate his anger and his frustration. _He was right in front of me, and yet I lost him... He was unable to harm me, his ship was broken, and despite that I lost him... Shit!_

Another flash of light dragged him out of his thoughts, reminding him of the dangerous environment he was tangled in.

_Damn storm... Hadn't you been there, Wolf would be my prisoner right now! Why did you have to be here?! Why did everything have to occur this way... Anyway, I guess there is nothing I can do now. Let's get out of here and head back to the Great Fox._

As he pulled on the yoke to perform a U-turn, he realised something extremely concerning with the behaviour of his Arwing. He couldn't bring the yoke closer to him, like if it was deeply planted in an invisible ground. As he put more strength, the ship, possessed by the intensity of the storm, still refused to follow his instructions, and kept shaking harder and harder.

_Oh, no no no, don't do this to me, not now, especially not now!_

Feeling the panic growing inside him, Fox tried to move to yoke, kicking it with both his feet, pushing all the buttons he could reach. He attempted everything that went through his mind to take back the control of his crazy ship, but nothing could be done. At this point, it was like if the Arwing had gained is own sentience, and was actively keeping pushing toward the centre of the storm, refusing to listen to any command the canine was giving it. On the contrary, every resistance from the pilot seemed to make the tremors more violent. For Fox, the situation was hopeless. He soon had the uncomfortable feeling he has passed the point of non return.

_No no no, there must be a way. There is always a way!_

Unfortunately for the vulpine, one cannot wish solutions into existence. He tried, again, all combination of commands possible, all of them being more ineffective than the others. The whole cockpit was looking back at him, placid and silent, and Fox almost had the impression it was taunting him and apologizing at the same time. The only control that could potentially work was the ejection seat, but it would only make his end more brutal. Eventually, the feeling that he finally reached the end of the road became a certainty.

_Failing to capture Wolf, and still dying anyway... Fox McCloud, even your death is pathetic._

Pathetic... The word kept resonating in the vulpine's mind, as he was spending what he thought was his last moment among the livings. _Wolf was right_ , he thought. _I'm not half the man James was. Not only_ _do_ _I constantly fail to catch him, but my_ _stubbornness_ _kills me in the process. It can only be described as pathetic._ _Why didn't I listen to you, Falco?_

The ship was shaking so violently, Fox instinctively put his arms around his head to protect it from a potential collision. For a moment, all he could perceive was the repeated bumps whacking his body, the deafening cacophony inside the cockpit, not designed to handle such level of stress, and the blinding glow of the storm around the Arwing. And then came the lightning, and the shock. From the vulpine's perspective, it felt like if a cosmic giant mistook his ship for a bottle of ketchup and kept hammering it, before swirling it in every direction. It was all what Fox remembered, before everything went black as the violent encounter of the back of his seat with his head knocked him out.

A fraction of second later, Fox wasn't in the storm anymore.

* * *

The gentle vibrations of the wings... The diffuse atmosphere flowing around the ship...

This was the first things Fox heard as he was smoothly brought back to consciousness by those sounds. Slowly but surely, the canine became master of his senses again, and tried to recollect all the pieces of information at his disposal. He was still in the cockpit, fastened to his seat. The intense memories of the past events were enough to increase his heartbeat, as he recalled the stress and the panic. He also remembered the chase, the storm... The storm?

He looked above him, only to see the immensity of empty space, calmly welcoming him into tranquillity. No purple clouds, no gusts, no tornados, nothing. Just a dark and silent blanket punctuated by hundreds of stars. Although the vulpine had seen this landscape a thousand times, this peaceful view filled him with a heart-warming feeling of relief and serenity. He felt like a child being told by his mother _Everything is going to be ok_ in a reassuring and comforting voice. As he took a look around, he managed to identify the source of the noise that woke him up. The Arwing was in the upper atmosphere of a terrestrial planet, performing a re-entry.

_Crap, I must have passed out and drifted through space to this planet. Well, at least I'm alive, I'm not going to complain about that._

The vulpine tried to manipulate the basic commands of his ship, and realized, not without disappointment, that all systems were out of use. Nothing was responding. Not the engine, not the navigation systems, not the radio, not even the lamp. He could still, however, control the mechanical parts of the wings with the yoke, which this time followed the pilot's instruction without opposing resistance. Even though there was no way for him to escape the gravitational field of the planet, he could still control the re-entry, which was one good thing at least. An undirected chaotic fall through an atmosphere was a very unpleasant experience he was more than happy to avoid.

After a few minutes, the air was dense enough for the canine to perform some basic movements. He flipped his ship, to make the upper part face the ground, and took a look the planet he was approaching. The view puzzled him.

_Wait, what is this planet? My knowledge of the Lylat system is far from perfect, but still, there aren't eighty planet, and I definitely don't recognise this one._

To fight against the staggering confusion, the vulpine began to examine the celestial body, in the hope for answers.

_There are oceans and continents, and I'm pretty sure I can discern one river or two from here. Those white stains... Is it snow, or is it a particular type of rock? Can't tell. I also note that the majority of the land masses are green. I can't distinguish anything from here, but I bet this is vegetation. So, this must be a habitable planet. But it's strange, I don't see any trace of artificial activities._

Instead of providing answers, those observations only raised more questions. After minutes of reflection which led to no satisfying responses, Fox eventually gave up. After all, what difference would it make? He was going to crash there anyway, and once he would have reached the ground, he'll have to find a way to contact his team. No additional informations could cause a significant change of plan.

Soon, the friction of the air started to heat the ship up. Despite his attempt to stop thinking about questions which he knew didn't have any answer, the canine kept struggling with the mystery resonating in his mind: where was he?

* * *

Fox was now on the ground, looking at his parachute. Usually, pilots who ejected themselves were expected to pack their parachute and take it back with them, but given the circumstances, he wondered if it was the right move. A big walk was waiting for him, and carrying such a dead weight would just burden him more than anything else.

_Actually, I should leave it there. If anybody comes across, it would inform him or her that I'm here._

As he untied himself, he remembered the heated exchange he had with his team about the ejection system, a while ago. Slippy wanted to install a full electronic unit, which was, according to him, lighter and simpler to program. Fox and Falco, however, insisted that such life-saving systems absolutely had to be one hundred percent mechanical, because those were too critical given the overall reliability of electronic circuits in general. He smiled as he remembered the precise arguments they threw at each other.

 _\- Falco's right. I need to fully trust the ejection system, I cannot concentrate otherwise when I fly.  
\- But the chances of those circuits to fail are a fraction of the probability of you being struck by a lightning. When I say that it is safe, it's because it is safe, damn it!  
\- Well people were struck by lightning before, Slippy! When I'll be stuck in a crashing Arwing, I won't be like "oopsie woopsie, it's not my lucky day" but more like "for fuck's sake I'm gonna die because of Slippy's dumb idea."!  
\- I'm telling you, it won't happen! The chances...  
\- I don't care about chances!_ ... And so on, for over an hour.

_Well, it seems Falco and I won the debate, all things considered. I'm pretty sure an electronic system would have failed me, just like the rest of the equipment of my Arwing. Ah, Slippy, Falco, Peppy, ... I wish you guys were here, I could really use your help right now._

Fox observed the place he landed on. He was in a small glade, surrounded by a dense forest, and couldn't see what was waiting for him outside of it. But he saw during the descent that the whole area was simply filled with woods, in every direction. Not a single spaceport, town, or even road, was in sight. From now on, the goal was simple: to get back to civilization. Having no direction where to start, he decided to head toward where his Arwing crashed.

_Somebody must have seen it, and if yes, he or she will probably inspect the crash site. This is the only option I have. Come on, Fox, you have a long way to go. If I remember correctly, I must point a little bit on the right, relative to the sun... Wait, what is that?_

The vulpine was frozen in astonishment as he looked toward the sun... the suns, actually. Indeed, the big illuminating star (which, as Fox noticed, was a bit more orange than the sun of Lylat) was escorted by a tiny blue dot, significantly dimmer, but still bright enough to be seen in daylight.

_Wait wait wait... Am I... Am I out of the Lylat System?! But... But how... How?! How did this happen? How can this be? Where Am I?! What is this place?_

"What is this place!!" he shouted, out of distress and confusion, even though he expected nobody to provide an answer on the spot. It took him a moment to collect his thoughts and to calm himself down.

 _There is no time for stuff like this. Get your shit together, Fox, and go to your Arwing. There will be another time for questions_ , he thought as he began his journey through the woods.

Walking among the trees turned out to be more difficult than expected. The vulpine had to constantly watch where he stepped his feet, if he wanted to avoid tripping over a root or a rock. He also underestimated the density of the woods, which frequently forced him to find an alternative path. What was supposed to be a tranquil promenade quickly became a fastidious trek, every step being harder than the previous one. It was obvious to Fox that civilization probably never reached this place, which was free for Mother Nature to shape as she wished.

The journey was an unusual experience for the canine. His whole path was plunged into darkness, the leaves of the highest trees filtering a big portion of the incoming sunlight. It was like crawling through a dream, a forbidden dream where strangers weren't allowed. Looking forward was a challenge too, given all the branches that were actively trying to poke the eyes of the vulpine. The forest seemed to engineer itself as Fox progressed, constantly trying to discourage him to continue. He frequently had to stop to catch his breath and to discern the position of the suns in the sky, to make sure he was still heading in the right direction. Even with his bright guide, the path still felt to Fox like a maze, purposely designed to make him loose his mind.

After an hour of walking, the vulpine, exhausted, decided to take a break. He sat on a thick root and began to think about pleasant things, trying to forget about the painful journey he was far from having finished.

_Come on, I've been through worse. Like that time where Falco and I were lost on this abandoned space station. I remember when..._

He proceeded in replaying old memories of his misadventures with his teammates, to bring some positivity to his journey. Lost in his inner films, he momentarily forgot about the forest, the fatigue, the confusion. However, his tranquillity was suddenly disturbed by a strange sensation. The sensation that the trees were talking, that the forest was trying to tell him something. The sensation that... That he was being watched.

He turned his head around, not sure of where to look or what to look for. He stay on high alert for a while, before shaking his head, thinking for himself that his imagination was just tricking him. As he got up to pursue his walk, the sensation got back. The vulpine succeeded in ignoring it for a while, until...

A noise... Behind him...

Fox's reflexes made him turn back in an instant. A few dozens meters away from him, he saw a the head of a wolf, the rest of the body hidden behind a bush. The view of another face made the vulpine forget about the oddity of the situation and smile in exaltation. He was to excited of finally meeting someone, he forgot he wasn't in the Lylat system anymore.

"Hey sir! Hello! Can you help me? Do you know where we are?" he yelled, while waving his paw at him. Instead of answering, the wolf quickly disappeared behind the bush.

_Mmmh, weird guy. Well, at least it means there are people here._

He continued his walk without paying more attention to this odd encounter. After all, this wasn't the weirdest thing that has happened to him this day. But a few minutes later, on his right, he saw the head of a wolf, again, much closer this time. Fox couldn't tell if it was the one he just met or not.

"Excuse me, are you the guy I bumped into a moment ago?"

The wolf did not respond. It just stood still, staring continuously at the vulpine.

"Sir? Can you hear me?"

The lupine then slowly walked away from the shrubs he was hiding behind, keeping his eyes on Fox, and started approaching him, revealing his whole body. The pilot realized, with great surprise, that the wolf walking on his four paws, and that he wasn't wearing any clothes. At this moment only, it occurred to Fox that something was fishy. Without knowing why, he started to feel threatened and afraid, as his heartbeat began to scale up.

"Oh... Uh... Is everything okay? Why are you walking like that?"

A menacing growl started to emanate from the wolf, as he lifted the corner of his mouth to reveal his teeth. Stress and panic grew stronger inside Fox, giving him the sudden urge of being away from here.

"Hey, calm down, what is wrong with you?"

He then heard a second growl, behind him this time. He was tempted to turn his head and take a look at the newcomer, but his instinct told him to do otherwise. The wolves, the growling, the tension, the feeling of danger, ... His brain had no time to process all those informations. While he was still wondering what was happening, his guts, powered by an unexplainable fear, bypassed all the usual barriers in his mind, took control of his whole body, released a colossal load of adrenaline, and gave a simple order:

_Run._

Only listening to what his instinct was telling him, Fox started the longest and most intense sprint of his whole life. He didn't feel the rugged ground hurting his feet, or the branches scratching his skin through his fur, but he did hear the sound of eights paws repeatedly hitting the dirt behind him. He didn't know why he was running or where, but he knew he had to run, as fast as he could. His brain, overwhelmed with terror and panic, was unable to process any other thought. Run, run, run, that was all what he could think of. The stress and the adrenaline gave him access to forces he never suspected. While he was sprinting, he heard a loud howl behind him and saw, out of the corner of his eye, other wolves joining the hunt. The hunt. Fox understood that now. He was a prey, and he had to run for his life.

The terrified vulpine then saw, before him, a tree suitable for climbing. He didn't take the time to consider if he could actually get in a safe spot in time, and immediately rushed toward it. With the panic and the adrenaline, he could, luckily for him, reach a sufficient height before the wolf pack could use him as their lunch.

Once he got himself on a stable branch, the stress and the panic slowly started to drop, leaving room in his brain for rational thoughts. Under him, it wasn't two, but six wolves, who were waiting for the orange canine to come back down. Fox noticed, without much surprise, that all of them were naked, and used their four legs to walk.

"What is wrong with you people?! Freaking maniacs!"

None of the wolves responded. Instead, one of them started walking in circle around the trunk, while two lied down, right at the bottom of the tree. The rest continued to stand up (on their four feet, of course), and kept observing the vulpine.

_They can't talk... They don't wear cloth, they walk on four legs, and they attack people... What the... Who are they? What happened to them?_

Fox then remembered he still had his blaster attached on his belt. Cursing himself for not having thought about it before, he took it in his paw and made sure the wolves could see it.

"Spread out, or I'll start shooting! This is your only warning!"

As expected, his threat raised no reaction among the pack. _Note for later: wolves never listen when you tell them_ _"_ _this is your only warning_ _",_ he thought with a touch of irony. He wasn't sure how, but he somehow began to understand the rules of this place. He locked eye contact with one of the lupine, and aimed his weapon at him.

 _Well, this is only legitimate self-defence, after all,_ he told himself before pulling the trigger. The wolf collapsed under the impact, which obliterated one of his legs. The sound of the shot scarred momentarily the rest of the pack, whose members made a pathetic yelp and a sudden jump back.

"Okay, so now that you can see- WHAT THE FUCK?!!"

Fox couldn't believe what his eyes were showing him. The rest of the pack, instead of dispersing, rushed toward their fallen member and started to... tear him apart and eat him, while he was still alive, screaming in incommensurable pain. During a few seconds, the vulpine was paralysed in shock and disgust, looking at the wolves covered in blood, ripping the skin, tearing the hamstrings, biting the muscles, crushing the bones of their dead mate. He wanted to get out of here, he desperately didn't want to witness this horrendous show below him, but he couldn't force himself to look away.

After a brief moment, he got out of his catalepsy and, only listening to his guts, jumped out of the tree and started running, again, to put as much distance as possible between him and the massacre occurring behind him. This time, however, none of the wolves were chasing him. After having sprinted for minutes, he stopped, listened carefully to make sure he wasn't followed, and allowed himself a short break to catch his breath and review those past events.

_What... How... They... I... But... Oh... Oh my..._

Still in shock, his brain was unable to produce any coherent thought for a while.

_You know what? Screw it. I'm not even gonna ask myself how is this shit possible, I'm not gonna try to find an explanation, I'm tired of this. Tired of trying to find a meaning to this place which obviously has none. Let's just forget about this, and continue heading toward the Arwing._

Forgetting about this... Easier said than done. Fox knew the memories of the view, the sound, the smell, were printed inside his skull and will keep haunting him until his death. That kind of thing could not be forgotten. He didn't know it, but he has just achieved a step toward inner peace, as he stopped trying to find an explanation to whatever was happening around him, to give meaning to this insane environment.

The vulpine continued his journey, hoping it will occupy his mind and prevent him for thinking about what he just witnessed. Although he knew he was safe now, he still couldn't get rid of the uncomfortable feeling of the filth on his soul. He felt like the trees were judging him for his actions, even though he just defended himself. As he looked upward, he noticed, not without satisfaction, that the woods gradually became less dense, the ground more firm, the way more illuminated. Suddenly, he heard a noise coming from a bush nearby. This time, he immediately grabbed his blaster and pointed at the bush, ready to shoot at whatever would be coming out of it. He kept starring at it, saw it wiggle, only to reveal... A fox?

The pilot took a look closer. It definitely had the overall aspect of a fox, naked and walking on his four feet (at this point, it wasn't a surprise anymore), but it was curiously... tiny. Indeed, the small vulpine barely reached his knee. The little fox observed briefly the big one, and then walked away, minding his own business.

Fox stood silent, wondering what to do with this information, when a familiar sound came from the sky. As he looked, he saw a spacecraft coming, flying toward the crash site. A new hope emerged in the heart of the pilot.

_I knew it! They must have seen my Arwing crash. I'm finally saved! ... Oh, wait a minute, last time I rejoiced because I saw what I thought was a friendly face, it tried to eat me alive, so I better be careful... Actually, all thing considered, I shouldn't worry. Indeed, if those guys can pilot a ship, surely they must be normal people who talk and wear clothes!_

Filled with hope and cheerfulness, the vulpine rushed toward the crash site. He didn't even need to guide himself with the suns anymore, all he had to do was to follow the spacecraft. He was exhausted and all his members were aching, but he was so excited to leave this crazy place he couldn't stop himself form running, filled with a new kind of energy, his brain ignoring the pain. On the way, he tried to think of what he should tell them. Should he mention the incident with the pack of wolves? Probably not, but what if they ask questions?

He felt wings growing on his back. Never in his life has he been so glad and relieved at the sight of civilization. He was finally getting answers. He was finally putting this insane forest behind him. He was finally going home! He pictured himself hugging this rescuers, thanking them for saving his life. He saw himself returning with great pomp amongst his own, imagining the excitement his comeback will create.

_I can't wait to get back to the Great Fox, the guys are not going to believe what I went through. That's a story Falco will never be able to top!_

After a long run that made compote out of his legs, the vulpine eventually reached the crash site, exhausted. The spacecraft had already landed, fifty meter away, in a glade. As he approached it, Fox took some time to examine the ship. As he expected, it didn't look like any he ever encountered. It was smaller than the Great Fox, but the vulpine estimated it was big enough to sustain a crew of about four or five people. This one was definitely not manufactured on Corneria or Venom. But there was something even stranger.

_What a curious design. It doesn't even have wings! How do those things perform in atmospheric flight?_

He was about to step in the glade, when a door on the side of the ship opened and let out three... Three... Three what?

Instinctively, Fox remained hidden in the shadow. He examined the three persons who just got out, and his mind became even more confused than it already was, despite all what he went through. The journey kept just getting weirder.

_What are they? Well, they're walking like normal people and they have clothes, that's something I guess. But... Have I seen this specie before? They make me vaguely think of chimpanzees, but the face don't match, and they don't have fur, except on the head for some reason... How come did I never bumped into those?_

He kept observing the primates (because he was almost sure, at least, they were primates) for a while, they and the ship behind them. Every time he thought of the spacecraft, his heartbeat increased slightly, as he remembered this was his only exit available at the moment, but this mysterious specie was a new variable he didn't know how to deal with. As the three primates started walking toward the rest of the canine's Arwing, he noticed that they were taller than him, of about thirty or fifty centimetres. He had to take a decision. Should he stay in the shadows, or should he introduce himself?

_What's the point of staying hidden? They're my ticket out of this planet, and I cannot just slip inside their own ship without them noticing. Well, I guess I don't have a choice. Come on, Fox, the sooner the better._

He took a step into the light, raised his right paw, and salute them as friendly as he could.

"Hello!"

The three primates turned their head at him and instantaneously stopped walking. For a while, the four of them stood still, looking at each other. Fox had trouble decrypting their facial expression, but he had the feeling they were just as puzzled as he was. Silence settled for what seemed to be multiple minutes, as confusion and apprehension reigned between the four mammals.

"Hello?"

One of the primate mumbled something to his neighbour. Fox couldn't hear properly, and he recognised none of the word that were said. The third one kept looking at him, and waved his hand back.

"Do you hear me? Do you understand me?"

As he talked, Fox made a few step closer. Even though he tried to look friendly, the primates manifestly didn't interpret it correctly, and one of them put one of his hand on his belt, on a device the vulpine recognised. It was a blaster, or at least it was designed like one. Confusion and apprehension quickly evaporated, to be replaced by mistrust and wariness. The canine couldn't help performing a similar gesture, and now had also a paw on his own blaster, ready to draw at any moment. He could feel the tension grow, slowly but surely.

_No Fox, they are your ticket out of here, don't be hostile! Maybe they never saw a talking fox before. I must try to ease tensions._

"Hey look, I'm not here to harm anyone, I just need some info. ... Hello? You get what I'm saying?"

The primates who had waved back to Fox then spoke. To her voice, he understood it was actually a woman. She made a long sentence and accompanied it with gestures, but the vulpine didn't get a single word. To his greatest disappointment, it was a language he never heard before.

_Why things never go the way I want them to go? Why is the entire universe against me?_

"I'm sorry, I didn't understand. But you answered, I guess that's a good sign, isn't it?"

The woman kept talking, and the canine had the sensation she didn't pay attention to what he said.

"It's pointless, I don't know your language. Wh-" And it was at this precise moment Fox realized... She wasn't talking to him.

He turned back, only to see a fourth primate, who was slowly and quietly approaching him from behind the whole time. His eyes were focused on the vulpine, and he held with both his hands a long dark object, whose specific use was unknown to the canine, but that looked threatening enough to make Fox, purely by reflex, draw his blaster and shoot the primate right in the head, which exploded under the impact. As the rest of the body collapsed, the vulpine heard the shrill cry of the woman behind him. Fox's guts told him to take cover, which was a good advice given the fact that the three remaining primates had drawn their own guns and started shooting at him.

_Oh no no no, what do I do now, what do I do?!_

They exchanged fire for a brief moment, before the three attackers started to back down. For Fox, this was the perfect opportunity to get up and flee, again, through the woods. He ran, ran, ran for several minutes, and then, not hearing or seeing anything coming behind him, assumed the primates had abandoned the chase. The primate's ship was assumably his only way out of there, and it wasn't going to stay for long, so he had to think fast.

_How do I get out of this mess?! I could talk... No, they wouldn't understand. And, they made clear they weren't friends anyway. But they have in their possession the only-_

His thoughts were interrupted by a distant and powerful sound, coming from the landing site. When he looked back, he saw one of them heading in his direction, riding what he could only describe as a car with two wheels.

_What is this engine? How come does it... Ah crap, I don't have time for this._

He started running, but noticed that the engine of his pursuers was way, way faster than him. In fact, there was absolutely no way he could outrun whatever this was. The vehicle, implacable, kept shrinking the distance between the primate and the canine. The view of the unstoppable machine running at him like a bat out of hell filled him with panic and fear, similar to what he felt when he was chased by the wolves. Simply running wasn't an option, he had do find another way. He turned toward a part of the forest that was more dense and rugged, in the hope that the engine couldn't follow him there, and sprinted. It seemed like his intuition was right. The primate stopped his vehicle and opened fire on the vulpine, who narrowly avoided the shots.

Fox thought he was done dealing with the panic of running for his life. Obviously, he was wrong. Feeling hunted again, this time by a much more clever and deceitful predator, he felt his heart racing, his members shaking. The day where he would finally rest seemed so far away. He kept pushing inside the forest, thinking he outran his chaser. It didn't took long for the vrooming sound to be heard again, this time in another direction. At first, the vulpine thought he was the same pursuer, but soon, as he heard two other similar sounds coming from different directions, he understood he was surrounded.

_Oh no, they must have encircled me! Damn it, I think I prefer the wolves, at least they-_

The memory of how he managed to escape the pack interrupted his thoughts. He look around him to spot a climbable tree, and started to escalate it. Bad move. Indeed, Fox forgot his pursuers had range weapons, and now that he was higher, he was an easy target.

He heard a gunshot, followed by a violent and sudden pain emanating from his right thigh. The surprise and the ache made him release the grip he had on the tree, and fall to the ground, leaving him no time to land properly. The shock of the impact left him stunned for a while, with tinnitus in his ears, and his murky eyes unable to produce a clear image. Once his vision became sharp again, he saw one of the primate standing next to him, holding a rock above his head.

It was all what Fox remembered before everything went black. Again.


	2. The station

When Fox opened his eyelids, he found himself sitting on a cold floor, his back resting against a metal table leg. But his eyes, surprised by the darkness, couldn't discern anything past his nose. Before any of his senses, the first signal his brain received was a sharp pain coming from the top of his head.

_Gosh, my head hurts... Those bastards hit me really hard._

He waited a minute, to get used to the headache, before trying to move. But as he should have expected, it was futile. His paws were strongly tied together behind his back with what felt like handcuffs, his arms circling the table leg, which was inseparable from the metallic ground. His attempt to stand up were just as unfruitful, and only had the effect of reminding him of the shot he received at his thigh. Every time he tried to move his right leg, the wound throbbed. Henceforth, walking (and especially running) will be a difficult and painful exercise for him.

Now that his eyes were fully accustomed to the darkness, the prisoner took a look around. The faint light coming from the stars through the window behind the vulpine was enough for him to inspect the room. It was relatively small, and was filled with wood boxes and shelves. Considering the grey metal the floor and the walls were made of and the stars on the other side of the window, Fox guessed that he was in space, inside a storage room in the ship of the four (well, now three) primates. But a small detail, outside the spacecraft, caught his attention. As he moved himself a bit on the right to have a better angle, he realized the ship was approaching a huge space station, highly likely filled with dozens of other primates just as unfriendly as those who captured him.

_Well good news, I finally left this damn planet. Bad news, I'm not sure I am in a better situation right now. Anyway, I can't do anything as long as I haven't freed myself, I better find a way of removing those restraints or I'll be in deep shit. I mean, even deeper than right now._

After having twisted his fingers and his wrists in every way he could, he understood the handcuffs were properly designed and could not be manipulated by the person wearing them (which, he thought, was kind of obvious, because that was the point of handcuffs). He then attempted to move the table, trying to find a flaw that could allow him to dislocate the leg, again unsuccessfully. Of course, if one could just free himself on his own just like that, life would be too easy. Fox remembered what he was told at the academy, on what to do in those kind of situation: _The best way to escape is not to get captured in the first place_. This was one of the many completely pointless advices the instructors of the academy loved to tell the recruits because they sounded super profound.

Hopeless, the canine began to nervously speculate about what will happen in an immediate future. Why didn't they simply kill him? What value did he have to them? What were they going to do to him? Interrogation... Torture... Imprisonment... None of these options made sense. What could they possibly want from him? A part of him was curious, but another part was desperate not to see any of that, for easily understandable reasons.

The vulpine knew big troubles were waiting for him, but he had no idea what the primates had in mind and what they'll do once they would have reached the station, which was now very close. Death might even be a better fate. But somehow, the fact that he had no possibilities of escape filled him with a bizarre mixed sensation of fear and calm. The idea of his powerlessness, the idea that he had no choice but to witness the incoming course of events, had an emotional anaesthetic effect on him. He was deprived of his free will, he won't have any choice to make from now on. All he had to do was to witness and endure. Sure, it was hopeless and terrifying, but the lack of responsibilities and the absence of opportunity to make things even worse was reassuring... somewhat.

A gentle shock followed by a thud echoing through the metallic structure of the ship informed him that the crew had arrived, and that the docking procedure has just started. He was running out of time. He had either to somehow escape or... He preferred not to think of the alternative. The vulpine was reviewing at the speed of light all the possibilities he had left, everything he could think of, when he heard a bip indicating that someone was opening the door. At this moment, his mind selected the option at the bottom of his list: to improvise.

The woman entered the dark room and set eyes on the orange canine sitting on the floor, apparently in a deep sleep, or unconscious. She held in her left hand the drug she was supposed to use to sedate him, but if he was still unconscious, what was the point? That product could inflict significant damage to the nervous system, it was better not to use it if not needed. But still, better safe than sorry. She kneeled next to him, and knocked a few times on his head, right were she hit with the stone.

_Don't flinch, Fox. Don't flinch._

The vulpine had to give a tremendous effort not to give a single perceptible reaction, as the repeated hit reactivated the severe pain of the smash that made him pass out a few hours ago. Things did not become easier when the woman began to pinch strongly and painfully the skin on his neck for seconds that felt to Fox like minutes.

_Don't flinch... Don't flinch... Don't flinch..._

Eventually convinced of the unconsciousness of the captive, the woman took a magnetic card out of her pocket and approached it to the handcuffs. An electronic bip followed by the mechanical sound of the restraints unlocking themselves informed both mammals that the arms of the prisoner were now free. For Fox, time for action has finally come.

_You just made the biggest and last mistake of your life, dumb bitch._

In an instant, the vulpine grabbed the head of the primate and smashed it on the ground as hard as he could. It wasn't enough to knock her out, but Fox took advantage of the confusion and jumped behind her, slipped his right arm around her neck, and squeezed with all his strength. Unable to breath, she started to struggle to escape the strangulation, but the canine had a hard grip on her. He could sense the heart pulsation through her throat, feeling it racing like a machine gun, before progressively slowing down. In the meantime, the kicks of the primate became softer, the struggle weaker. After a moment in this position, blood had stopped flowing in the carotid artery. Fox kept holding the inanimate body for a while, for the sake of certainty, before letting it go and getting himself up. The sudden ache on his thigh made him groan in pain, recalling him he'll have to limp his way out of here.

For a moment, his eyes were stuck on the dead body. He just killed her. In cold blood. That very thought was extremely unpleasant to him, as he found himself disgusted and ashamed by his own crime. Of course, he could easily rationalize his act. After all, the woman left him no choice, he cannot be blamed for trying to save his own skin. Also, by shooting him and making him their prisoner, they basically declared war. He was just legitimately and righteously retaliating. Moreover, he had already killed people before, in the skies, in his Arwing, he should be used to this sensation. But still, killing someone with his own paws, feeling the light fading away, was different from blasting from a safe distance.

_I don't have time for this. I must get out of here._

Snapped back into reality by the urgency of the situation, Fox searched the body of the primate, and took with him the magnetic card and the blaster she was carrying, before hobbling outside the room.

The spacecraft wasn't huge, so finding his way out shouldn't be too difficult for the vulpine. He nonetheless had great troubles orienting himself inside the corridors, having no idea how the ship was build. He didn't even know in which direction the exit was. He eventually found a stairway leading to a lower deck. Right after he went down, a door opened on his right to reveal one of the two remaining primates, tying back his belt. His eyes went up to meet the vulpine's, and he froze.

Fox was aiming his blaster (actually, the one he got from the primate he killed, but now it was his) at him, a finger on the trigger, ready to pull at any moment. Seeing the perspective of an imminent death incoming, the primate began trembling in fear, and raised both his hands above his head. The fact that the vulpine immediately understood this gesture made him think that some things were truly universal after all. He was tempted to take the easy way and increase his body count, before resigning itself, thinking that he's not the type of person who kills if he can avoid it, even if they kind of deserve it.

Fox pointed his finger upward and drew a circle in the air, trying to instruct the primate to turn around. He understood the injunction and complied, and his trembling slowly disappeared. The vulpine was about to knock him out when the primate suddenly grabbed his own blaster and turned toward his opponent, trying to neutralize him. Too slowly, unfortunately. One second later, Fox had repainted the walls with the inside of his skull.

_Stop making me do this, damn it!_

At this moment, the canine heard a big door sliding in the distance, and a dozens of steps, at least. The main door was now open, and a group of primates had entered the ship. Fox couldn't see them, but the sound and the scent informed him that they were on the same deck as him, that they were numerous, and that there was no way he could beat all of them collectively. Out of panic, he continued getting down the stairs, clumsily, his thigh still hurting him, eventually arriving in what he guessed was the engine room. It didn't take long, however, for the group to find one of the body.

Orders Fox couldn't understand were yelled, and the steps spread out and became quicker. They were looking for the killer, and they would inevitably come to the engine room. The vulpine's heartbeat began to scale up, as he examined every corner around him, looking for a way out.

_The exit is on the deck above, but I cannot reach it without going through them. I must hide, or... Uh, what is that?_

He just noticed, among the multiple pipes winding on the walls, one that was big enough for the canine to fit inside, two meters above the floor, and that seemed to lead toward the outside of the ship. At least, Fox hoped so. Without any further consideration, he climbed on it, with great difficulty, and crawled along until he found a hatch.

 _If this lead me outside, it's a miracle!_ he thought as he began unlocking the hatch _. If get out of here in one piece, I'm the luckiest f... Oh no... I cannot go in there._

As soon as he had removed the heavy piece of metal, an intense smell of urine and excrement filled the whole room, leaving no place for doubt regarding the intended purpose of this pipe. Repulsed at first (honestly, who wouldn't be?), Fox eventually made the painful realization that he hadn't the luxury to decline such a life-saving opportunity. This was a matter of life and death, he could not afford to worry about basic hygiene. He took a deep breath and slipped himself inside the pipe, hoping the spirits of nobody's ancestors were looking at him at this embarrassing moment.

The vulpine was a bit optimistic in his estimation of the inner width of the conduit. It was still wide enough for him to fit inside, but moving turned out to be challenging. He hadn't enough room to raise his head and look forward, and was reduced to crawl, making ridiculously small steps on his elbow and his knees. The stinky brown water was getting to the middle of his thigh and below his shoulders. He was, literally, in deep shit.

_Imagine this is... Mud. That's right. You're just crawling in mud, nothing more. You already did it dozens of time, it's no big deal._

But whatever illusion he was creating to keep his sanity intact was obliterated as soon as he took a breath. The condensed smell was impossible to ignore. It attacked recklessly the sensitive olfactory receptors of the canine with such an intensity, he had the sensation the inside of his nose was burning and melting. Fox never thought odours could hurt, at least hurt that much. As he tried to put up with the pain and continue forward, he heard an alarming sound behind him.

_Please don't be what I suspect it is... Please don't tell me they're discharging the-_

His thoughts were interrupted by a torrent of wastewater coming from behind him, taking along the vulpine in its fury. Unable to fight against the stream, Fox had no choice but to let the current carry him away. It was terrifying at first. He was shaken in every direction, bumping ceaselessly on the tube wall, struggling to breath, as the tortuous conduct took him at the lower level of the space station. Fortunately, after a minute of this hellish ride, the torrent ended up pouring into a much bigger sewer, in which the current was significantly slower, allowing the vulpine to breath normally.

Now that his environment acquired a semblance of calm, he could finally stand up, the water getting only to his waist, and think of what to do next. He was in what looked like a complex sewage system, and even though the relative absence of light prevented him from having a perfect image of his surroundings, he could nonetheless distinguish a network of walkway, about one meter above the water level, and a ladder that led to said network. Once he got himself out of the water, he took a moment to contemplate himself, covered from head to toe in... Well... You know what.

_For a shower right now I would gladly sell a kidney. Perhaps even two._

The wound on his leg still dolorous, Fox had to laboriously limp in the obscurity. Apart from the pain and the smell, he thought he actually was in a pretty good situation. He was freely able to move, no imminent danger was threatening him, and he could even allow himself a break if he wanted to. Nobody was pointing a gun at him, no crazy animal was trying to eat him. After spending his time running, after all he went through, his arrival in this place brought him a sentiment of calm and safety. The tranquillity, the silence, the darkness, ... He was almost tempted to spend a day or two down here. But he knew this feeling of peacefulness was only a temporary illusion. He was still in danger, in a space station crawling with wicked people, and he still had no idea how to get back home. Home... One thing at a time, he had to get out of this station first. Now, he should head to the spaceport, steal a ship, and run away.

The vulpine eventually found a ladder that led him in the middle of a small hallway. The whole place was faintly illuminated, with sparse lamps projecting a pale blue light on the metallic walls, but is was still more luminous than the sewer, distinguishing what lied around him was therefore not a problem. Both ends of the corridor looked similar, so Fox hadn't the slightest idea of where to go. He noticed signs hanging on the walls and the ceiling, but they were written in an incomprehensible language. Even the letters were totally unknown and thus unreadable. He tried to guess what each sign indicated, helping himself with the pictograms, in vain.

Out of option, the canine started roaming in the station, choosing randomly which path to take at each intersection. The wound on his leg made his progression quite slow and unpleasant, forcing him to hobble all the way. The relative obscurity of the place and the absence of people led Fox to infer that everyone was now sleeping. Good for him. The less of those primates he met, the better.

Bathed in the pale blue light, the place, despite being clean and seemingly well maintained, emitted a worrisome silence, as if it was disguising itself under a mask of fake peacefulness. Fox felt like danger was waiting for him at every corner, and the absence of sound only made this feeling stronger. The calm atmosphere seemed like a pernicious trap, trying to lead him at the core of the station, in order to crush him before he would have the time to react. The tranquillity was fragile, and it would only take one primate to sound the alarm for the hunt to begin once again.

As he continued walking, drawing an internal map of the path behind him, he heard footsteps, on his left. He only had enough time to hide behind a pile of plastic containers before two primates walked by, barely five meters away from his position. The intruder remained lying for a minute, to make sure the primates were far enough, and was about to stand up when he noticed something on the floor, something that looked like hairs.

Fox took a look closer, grabbed the hairs, and sniffed it, trying to determine its origin. He was certain it was from a lupine. The memory of his rival then suddenly came back to him.

_Wolf O'Donnell! I completely forgot about that prick. Could it be his? Is he here too? If yes, he might be in danger... No, he would certainly be in serious danger. Should I go after him?_

The plan of the vulpine was abruptly interrupted by this unexpected finding. He was in front of a dilemma, and he had a decision to make.

_On one hand, I know he definitely would not help me, he would be too happy to let me suffer and die. And frankly, given our common history, it would be bold of him to expect me to rescue his ass. Also, if he disappears, then I have one problem less. Isn't what I have tried to achieve those past years? Wouldn't it be stupid to pass the opportunity to put an end to our conflict? He's the one who brought us into this storm, he sort of deserve it, after all._

_But on the other hand, he might have answers. He might know a thing or two about this place, how we got here, or how to go back home. If yes, then he's my best shot to get back to Corneria, even if it implies me teaming up with him. Also..._

_Also, you're better than him, Fox. He would let you die, but you wouldn't, because you're not a selfish asshole. That's the difference between you and him. That's why you're the good guy and he's not. Never forget that, Fox._

Determined to find his enemy back, the vulpine followed the trail left by the grey canine, guiding himself with the scent. The trace was tenuous and weak, but it didn't cause many difficulties, given the fact that the smell of the lupine, although thin, was easily recognisable in the middle of the odours of the primates. The path led Fox to a darker area of the station, that looked less used and maintained. The place had a grim and ominous atmosphere, as if the primates themselves preferred to avoid this zone. The vulpine had the impression he was in a horror film, and he just stepped where the old lady (or whatever other cliche) explicitly warned him not to go.

As he passed by the rotten walls and the broken lamps, he tried to anticipate his encounter with the lupine. What will he find? What should he say? How will Wolf react? Should he threaten him first, or greet him politely? There were too many unknown variables for Fox to make a relevant prediction, but exploring the possibilities at least distracted his mind from the station that fell slowly and quietly into decay as he moved forward. The fact that the lupine was brought here specifically was a bad omen regarding his fate. Despite his leg still hurting, Fox fastened his pace. Each second less he spent in this area was worth the effort.

The trail eventually ended at a closed door. The electronic lock reminded the vulpine of the magnetic card he took from the woman's body on the ship. He took a deep breath, worrying simultaneously about whether the card will work or not and about what he'll find on the other side, and approached the key. A satisfactory bip was heard. Fox, on his guards, holding firmly his blaster, pushed the door and stepped into the room, plunged into complete darkness. He closed the door behind him, touched the wall, looking for a light switch, and pushed it once it was found. As the vulpine contemplated the scene, his heart stopped beating for a while and his fur stood up in shock.

A wolf he immediately identified as his rival was lying on his back, on a table in the centre of the room. Straps on the four corners were holding all of the lupine's paws, exposing his naked (and surprisingly frail) body, covered in wounds, scars, and blood. Even his eyepatch had been removed. Further examinations revealed an infusion injecting something in his arm, a piece of duct tape circling firmly his muzzle, and that the fur was partially shaved in some places. But most importantly, the unmistakable scent of dry blood hanged in the air. As Fox looked down, he noticed the floor covered in red stains of various sizes. Whatever happened here, the vulpine was more than happy to have witnessed none of it.

With the lamp on the ceiling right above him, Wolf had no choice but to wake up. As he turned his head around, his eye fell on the disheartened vulpine standing near him. He suddenly started to flail frenetically, attempting in vain to get rid of the straps tying him on the table, and tried to talk, but the tape around his mouth only allowed him to produce an unintelligible "mmh!". Despite that, Fox could distinctly hear the terror in his tone and his expression. He wasn't sure what to think about this, but he knew what to do.

"Calm down, it's just me." he whispered as he approached the lupine, who was still agitating himself, to remove the infusion and the tape around the muzzle. Once done, the grey canine could freely talk.

"Fox! Please get me out of here! Before they come back!" he shouted in a panicked and desperate voice.

Fox was taken aback by his reaction. He never thought he would witness Wolf in such a state of despair and fear, he almost thought the lupine was unable to feel those emotion. The contrast between the current state of the canine on the table and how he remembered him filled Fox with empathy and compassion for his rival. He never thought he would feel that for him one day.

"It's alright, there's only me. But lower your voice, you don't want them to hear us."

"Hurry!!"

"I said be quiet!"

The vulpine proceeded to remove the four straps. Once Wolf was free of those restraints, he got of the table, almost falling over in the process. While his body, still under the shock, was trembling, he frenetically looked around, panting loudly, as if he feared the walls might attack him at any moment.

"We must get out! We must get out now! Or they will capture us again!"

"Who's _they_?"

"They... Oh no, I hear them, they're coming back! Oh no no n-"

"Wolf be quiet! You're gonna get us killed if you continue!"

Fox listened carefully. He could hear, in the corridor, footsteps coming toward the room they were in. Wolf had finally stopped shouting, but the vulpine feared his heavy and panicked breathing was still too loud.

"It's gonna start again! It's gonna-"

"Silence! He doesn't know I'm here. I'll just take him by surprise, but I need you to stay quiet."

 _I guess I'm the only one capable of rational thinking here,_ thought Fox. _I mean... What have they done to him? He's nothing like the Wolf I knew. I almost feel sorry for him._

When the lock emitted the bip indicating that the newcomer was right one the other side, Fox made the first move and opened brusquely the door, grabbed the primate by the head and knocked him out on his knee, leaving him no time to react. He then took a peek in the hallway to make sure nobody else was coming, and turned back to Wolf.

"Okay, now let's move."

But the lupine wasn't paying attention. He was entirely focused on the unconscious primate lying on the floor, keeping his eye on him. He breathing became progressively slower, and Fox saw the fear fading out in his eye, to be replaced by an intense rage.

"Wolf, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Ignoring the advice of the vulpine, he took an unknown machine, the size of a microwave, from a desk against the wall, and walked toward the body. Seeing his gait, the orange canine guessed it was pretty heavy, and wondered what the lupine had in mind. He understood it only a fraction of second before Wolf raised the machine in the air and smashed it on the head of the primate. Fox could feel the impact propagating through the floor as the sound of the skull cracking echoed in the whole room. Frozen is astonishment, the vulpine couldn't help to witness Wolf taking the machine back in his paws and repeating the gesture again, and again, and again, crying in anger at each strike.

"What the... What was that?!" he asked once Wolf seemed to be done.

"Trust me... He... He fully deserved it..." the grey canine responded, panting heavily between each word. Fox noticed in the tembling voice of Wolf that he was still overwhelmed with fear, and that the murder was rather an act of panic than a demonstration of rage.

"Someone must've heard us, we must go now!" Fox said, hoping this time the lupine would follow his injunction.

"Okay! ... Okay!"

"Do you know how to leave this place? Do you remember the path you took to get here?"

"Er... Yeah! I think... I'll tell you on the way!"

When both of the canine were back in the hallway, Wolf started running.

"Wait! I was shot, I can't run!" Fox yelled, painfully limping behind him.

"Hurry! They'll soon find the body!"

_Well, what's left of it._

The duo spent the next five minutes running in the station, as fast as the wound of Fox allowed them to. At each step, the vulpine felt like he was stabbed on his thigh, and he had to make a tremendous effort to overcome the pain. Even though the station was more or less the same as before and no primate was in sight, the vulpine felt like the trap he foolishly fell into was closing itself.

_I'm tired of running... I'm so tired of running..._

Wolf, for its part, kept running back and forth, never stopping himself to catch his breath, constantly on high alert, as if he was chased by an invisible predator. Although the behaviour of the lupine could seem erratic at first, Fox had the impression he somewhat knew the way, and wasn't choosing directions randomly.

"Do you know where you're taking us?"

"Toward the spaceport, look!" the lupine answered while pointing at a sign. A sign of the same kind Fox was unable to decipher.

"Wait a minute... You can read this? You understand their language?"

"No time to explain! We m-"

Suddenly, all the lamps in the station went at full power, projecting a blinding white light, and a loud alarm started ringing, followed by a voice repeating an incomprehensible sentence. Incomprehensible... Not for Wolf, apparently.

"Shit, they're already looking for us! You gotta go faster, Fox!"

_I'm doing my freaking best, okay!_

The group fastened his pace. Sensing the adrenaline kicking in once more, Fox began to feel fear invading his mind. The sound of the alarm, continuously resonating in the station, kept reminding him stressfully of the constant danger. The station had finally removed his mask of tranquillity, and was now trying to kill them. His heartbeat started to scale up, his breath became faster. As they were running in a corridor, a group of primates, armed to the teeth, emerged ahead of them. Wolf gave a cry of panic and surprise, and jumped in a lateral passage. Fox drawn his blaster and opened fire on the group, forcing them to take cover, while making his way toward the lupine.

"Now? Where?" the orange canine asked, panting.

"This way, to the stairs!"

Feeling hunted once again (at this point it became a routine), the vulpine sprinted as fast as he could, too panicked to feel the pain, hearing the footsteps and the voices of their pursuers getting closer behind him. Ahead, Wolf had already began to rush downward, four steps at a time. After arriving at the top of the long and deep stairs, Fox was about to descend when...

On top of the stress and the panic, the orange canine had to deal with a new kind of terror, more intense and pure than anything he felt so far this day: the sudden sensation of lack of gravity. Perhaps he miscalculated the size of the stairs, perhaps he forgot to take his wound into account, perhaps the stress prevented him to properly coordinate his legs. Whatever the reason was, he made a false move, and both his feet were still on the first step while his centre of mass was ahead, as he felt the laws of physics reclaiming their rights over his body.

Time slowed down as the fall began, leaving him enough time to imagine the impact, but not enough to anticipate it properly. As his back hit the steps below him, his legs were taken into the fall and brought the rest of the body with them. Fox tumbled all the way down, in a chaotic and painful fall that would leave each of his muscles and bones sore and temporarily useless. Once he eventually reached the bottom, every part of his body was aching so much, he wasn't sure he could stand up at all. Even breathing was painful. Wolf grabbed the blaster that Fox dropped during the fall and rushed toward a door.

"It's just behind that door, we're almost there!"

"Wolf! ... I need your help!"

The lupine stopped halfway, still panicked and panting. His gaze alternated repeatedly between the door, promise of a free life, and the helpless vulpine on the other side. Fox had a vague idea of the internal fight going on in the mind of the grey canine.

The temptation was strong. _Come to me_ , seemed to say the door. _There are spacecrafts waiting for you, just behind me._ _Come to me and save your_ _own_ _skin. Don't worry about Fox, he'll manage._ Wolf caught himself imagining him fleeing out of this hellish prison, finally free, abandoning the vulpine behind. But a part of his mind forbade him to take such a selfish and dishonourable path.

_Don't do this Wolf... After what I just did for you, you better not leave me here!_

Fortunately, Wolf came back to his saviour, and started shooting at the primates up the stairs. Panicked, he was unable to concentrate and aim properly, but it was enough to hold them back and to give Fox the time he needed to get back on his feet. The orange canine grabbed Wolf by the shoulder, using his body to support himself, while the grey one slipped is arm around Fox's back and under his shoulders.

The duo went at the door, which opened as they approached. On the other side, they saw a row of spacecrafts, parked fifty meters ahead of them. They were not cruise ship, but seemed able to host two people for a long time. Given the design and the external equipment, Fox guessed they were warships. One of them had an access ramp connecting the ground to an open door. This view breathed new life into the two exhausted canines, who finally had in front of them their salvation. Holding each other, they struggled to get to the ship before another group of armed primates entered the spaceport.

Once they entered, Fox took his weapon back from the lupine's paws, and shot at the incoming primates to keep them away, succeeding in taking two or three down.

"More of them are coming, close that door!"

"I'm trying!"

Wolf was in front of a control panel, and was stressfully attempting to find out how to close the door. Outside, the pursuers started to organize themselves. Fox noticed that some of them had brought some kind of shields, and that little groups were forming behind them in order to advance toward the canines. Because of their their number and their protections, the vulpine had no choice but to take cover, allowing the primates to shrink the distance between them and the craft.

"Hurry, they're getting closer!"

"Hold on! ... I think that's it!"

When the lupine pushed two buttons, the door closed and the ramp retracted itself. He then rushed on the other side of the ship, the vulpine struggling to keep up the pace, his thigh still aching, and together they reached what was obviously the cockpit. There were two seats, facing a console, on which Fox recognized some elementary commands, and a big window that was forming an approximative half sphere around them. Fox took the seat on the left, which had a yoke on front of it.

"Wolf, how do I turn this on?"

The lupine began to examine the console, reading every button, but the stress and the fear prevented him to think clearly. As Fox listened carefully, he heard alarming shocks echoing through the fuselage.

"They're trying to get in, hurry!"

"Er... Try... This, maybe!" he answered in a panicked voice while pointing toward a switch. When Fox turned it, the whole room lighted up, and all the lamp on the console went briefly on, indicating that the controls were ready to be used.

Although he never set foot on this specific model of spacecraft and couldn't read the captions, the layout of the controls was somehow familiar. On his right, he seemed to recognize the two small levers he would normally use to turn on the engines. Better ask Wolf for confirmation.

"Is this for the engines?"

"I don't know, try!"

Fox pulled both levers, and the craft immediately rose a few meters above the ground, as the engines started roaring. He grabbed the yoke and was immediately blown away by the reactiveness. The ship responded instantaneously to each of his moves, with an accuracy he never experienced yet. Like every pilots, the vulpine had used over and over the phrase _the ship is_ _an extension of_ _the pilot's_ _body_ , but this was the first time he considered this expression truly appropriate. This craft was nothing like he had ever seen.

_Wow, they must have fine engineers. I would like to meet them... Actually no, I don't want to meet them, but their engineering is still impressive!_

"Wolf, it feels amazing, you have to try this at least once!"

"Fox, there's no time for this!!"

"Oh right, sorry."

As he kept elevating the ship, he noticed that the huge main gate of the hangar, consisting of two thick metal curtains, leading to outer space, was closed.

_I should have expected it, we probably can't open the gate from here. Well, I don't have a choice, I must blast the shit out of it. Let's see... Those buttons on the yoke could very well be the cannons. Good designs are truly universal, I guess._

The burst he shot completely obliterated the gate, creating a hole sufficiently wide for the spacecraft to go through. Right after the explosion, the pressure difference suddenly drawn all the air inside the hangar out in space, taking with it a handful of primates, who were now convulsing due to the lack of oxygen.

"Oh no, they were still people here!" the vulpine exclaimed.

"Don't bother about them, just go!"

Fox flew across the aperture, and... Finally. After all the stress, the panic, the running, he has finally reached space. He has finally left the station. As the burden on his shoulders disappeared, he accelerated, still amazed by the behaviour of the spacecraft. It was more responsive, fast, and precise than anything he ever flew before, and by far superior to any of the ships manufactured in the Lylat system. In fact, he suspected that when he'll be back home, he'll regret not having the possibility to pilot this gem anymore. He imagined all he could achieve with it. The aerobatics he could perform, the dogfights he could easily win, and so on. He would be absolutely unstoppable. The yell of a terrified lupine suddenly snapped him back into reality.

"They sent three fighters after us!"

The perspective of a three versus one dogfight would have scared the vulpine in any other situation, but not this time. Those past days, he had constantly been hunted on the ground by those bastards. He always had to run for his life, never being able to retaliate. But now, he was in space. He was Fox McCloud, one of the best pilot there is. This territory was his, and time for revenge has finally come. Fear and panic had left the mind of the vulpine, to be replaced by an unshakeable and unwavering tenacity. They were in his element, and they were about to find out, the hard way, what he was made of. But he needed help.

"We're gonna die, we're gonna die!"

"Wolf, pull your shit together, I need your help! I noticed a turret under the ship. Can you try to control it from here?"

Wolf took the other seat, and started navigating the menus on the screen. In the meantime, the three fighters behind them opened fire. Feeling the same energy he always felt when fighting in his Arwing, Fox made his spacecraft whirl, spin and dance with an unparalleled accuracy and elegance, thus avoiding the shots with the ease of a mosquito dodging raindrops in a storm. The adrenaline and the determination almost made him feel at home. Flying just felt so good to him, as if he was born with a yoke in the paws. The three pursuers were no match for the master of the skies they were trying to chase. They could barely follow the canines in their insane yet perfectly calculated trajectory. Taken into a dance they could never hope to lead, they were doomed to follow it forcefully and exhaustingly, unaware of the fact that it would eventually lead them to their inevitable destruction.

"I think I'm in control of the turret!"

"Okay, here is what's gonna happen: I will turn around, and as soon as they're in sight, we shoot them down together. I take the one on the left, you the one on the right, and we'll improvise for the third. Now!"

Leaving him no time to respond, Fox pulled on the yoke and performed a quick and sharp U-turn. A fraction of second later, they were facing the three ships and were rushing toward them. His eyes and his paws perfectly coordinated, the vulpine only needed two bursts to destroy the ship he was aiming at, still dodging the incoming shots in the meantime, with the confidence and the skill of the absolute expert he was. Wolf, on the other hand, was too panicked to concentrate properly, and had to shoot continuously during seconds before hitting his target, such that the vulpine had to deal with the remaining fighter himself.

Once the threat was eradicated, Fox breathed out deeply, and looked at the space station and the planet for the last time. The view looked like a tribute to his misadventures on those hellish places, and it tasted like victory. The days he spent on those were, without any doubt, the worst of his life. They relentlessly tried to crush him, yet he emerged triumphant. After the runs, the hunts, the wounds, after all what went through, he was finally and irrevocably putting them behind, never to come back again. From the very moment he would turn around, they would forever be part of his past, and solely of his past.

_I am done dealing with both you. You caused me so much troubles, so much pain. You're lucky I cannot erase you from existence. I'm leaving, and I will never see you again._

He turned around and was welcomed, once again, by the peaceful tranquillity of empty space. The orange canine could take the time to relax and enjoy the quietness, if it wasn't for the grey one, too nervous to remain seated.

"We must speed up, they'll send more after us!"

"Relax, nobody is chasing us. There is nothing to fear."

"But if they catch us they will take us back!!"

"Wolf, calm down! You have nothing to worry about."

"I cannot go b-"

"Wolf!!"

Fox had gotten up and was holding both of the lupine's shoulders, trying to calm him down. He could feel all of his members trembling, his heart racing. Terror and panic were still perceptible in his eye, his voice, and his panting. The recent events obviously had a bad effect on him. The vulpine wasn't sure how to convince him he was out of danger.

"Wolf, I know you went through a lot, even though I don't know what they did to you. But look." he said in a calm and comforting tone as he pointed toward the dark and silent blanket, outside the window. "We're alone. There is only us. They can't hurt you anymore."

The shaking of the lupine went weaker as his breathing became slower, more regular.

"That's right, just breath, deeply, slowly. You're safe now. Everything's gonna be alright." he said as he gently tapped his shoulder.

The serene voice of the vulpine produced the desired effect. Wolf eventually retrieved a normal breathing, after he stopped trembling, and the fear seemed to have faded away from his mind. However, Fox could sense he was still tense.

_I'm almost tempted to hug him... Wait, what am I thinking?!_

"Listen, why don't you get some sleep? I stay here to keep watch. We'll talk when you'll be rested. Is it okay with you?"

After a moment of silence, the lupine nodded quietly, and started walking slowly, one step at a time, toward the exit of the cockpit, while Fox took his place back in the seat in front of the window. At this moment, it occurred to him that the grey canine was still wearing the same outfit he had when the vulpine found him tied to the table, which is none.

"And when you wake up, get yourself some clothes."

Wolf didn't seem to react to this remark. When he reached the door of the cockpit, he silently mumbled something Fox didn't comprehend.

"What?"

"I said: good night, Fox."

"Oh... Erm... Good night to you too."


	3. Learning to know

_It's over..._

It didn't took long for Wolf O'Donnell to find the bedrooms. The spacecraft he and Fox stole wasn't huge, in fact it was designed to sustain a crew of two people. As a consequence, there were only two large rooms, facing each other, on the second deck. The lupine arbitrarily took the one on the right, and was now standing, motionless, on the door frame, staring at nothing. Under usual circumstances, he would be pleased to see the quarters that were now his. The carpeted floor, infinitely more comfortable than the cold metal on the rest of the ship (especially considering the fact he was barefoot), the large bed, the bay window overlooking the night sky and its thousands of stars, ... Those primates definitely knew how to properly make themselves comfy, even in ships build for war.

_It's over..._

But his thoughts were too busy to rejoice over trivialities, as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He had to relearn how to think. How to feel. How to make decision. How to... be normal. Those past months twisted his mind, molested it, torn it, tortured it, and turned it into a useless debris he forgot how to use properly. All he experienced was pain, despair, fear, and loneliness. That's everything his days were made of, but things were different now. Danger wasn't part of his life anymore. He was alone in the room, a room free of threat. Outside the room, apart from Fox, the spacecraft was completely silent, free of threat. Outside the spacecraft, empty space was spreading farther than his eye could see, free of threat. _You're safe, they can't hurt you anymore..._ The vulpine's phrase kept echoing in his mind. He understood each word, but not the sentence as a whole, as if he forgot the meaning of safety.

_It's over..._

He forgot how to feel calm. He forgot what it was like to have a mind at peace. He forgot how to handle the absence of danger. He basically forgot how to be himself, how to be a wolf. It was like he had been drowning in suffering for so long, it had become his element, and now his mind was inadequate to this return to normalcy. What should he do, what should he think, now that his life wasn't in danger anymore? His inability to reason normally wasn't a problem during the escape with the orange canine, all he had to do was doing what his guts were telling him. But now, the lupine was alone with his thoughts.

_It's over... The nightmare is over..._

Eventually, the grey canine began, slowly but surely, to reassemble his broken mind, piece by piece. After minutes in this state, he finally realized the extent of what truly happened to him. He just escaped from the nightmare he was imprisoned in. No more primates. No more tests. No more torture. No more starvation. It was over. The nightmare was over. He was finally free. Finally... alive. The lupine felt blood boiling in his veins, as he became overwhelmed by torrent of emotions. Relief, joy, bliss, ... After all this time, he finally could renew with those feelings. Unable to contain himself, he grabbed a pillow, put it against his face, and screamed in it as loud as he could. It was a powerful scream of anger, of relief, of justice, of long-awaited freedom. The nightmare was finally over.

Caught by fatigue, Wolf let himself collapse on the bed. The chase across the station had drained him of all the energy he had left, and he quickly sank into a deep, dreamless and restorative sleep he fully deserved.

* * *

"... And I officially baptize this constellation: the Little Spoon. Oh wait, there's already a Little Spoon. The Very Little Spoon, then."

Fox estimated that four hours passed since they left the station. He was slumped in his seat, both feet on the console, taking a peek through the hemispherical window from time to time to make sure they were alone. But there was nothing to report during those four hours, no sign of any danger. The canines were as isolated from the outside world as they could possibly be. At first, to kill time, he examined carefully the console, trying to guess the function of each button and lever. Some of them seemed obvious, by their position, their design, or their associated pictogram, but most were completely new to the vulpine. When he got bored, he simply gazed at the night sky, drawing his own constellations and giving them names.

It was a serene ambiance that reigned in the stolen ship. Apart from the soft humming of the engines, the spacecraft, drifting through space without destination, was totally free of sounds. The combination of the silence and the obscurity, the inside of the cockpit being illuminated only by the faint light of the stars, created a peaceful atmosphere, wholeheartedly welcomed by the orange canine. Fox felt like the spacecraft itself was telling him _Take a break man, you earned it_. Since he arrived in this place, it was the first time he didn't have to worry about future events, and he could finally relax. Which he did, extensively, during those past hours. But as time passed, relaxation slowly turned into boredom.

 _Wait, what is that smell? ... Did somebody took a dump on the floor?_ Fox thought, a few seconds before realizing that the source of the odour was none other than himself, since his misadventure in the sewer. He also realized, with great excitement, that he now had the opportunity to finally wash.

_Come on, nothing happened so far, I think I can take some time off._

Unlike Wolf, Fox spent some time appreciating the cosiness of his quarters. That wasn't a hotel room, but still, he definitely wouldn't mind sleeping in there. He even had his own bathroom. When searching the wardrobes, he could easily find a shirt more or less to its size, but when it came to find a pair of pants, things became trickier. He remembered that the primates were taller than him, consequently almost all trousers were too long. The vulpine had no choice but to pick a grey gym short if he didn't wanted to get tangled up. The biggest problem, however, was the feet. Fox found some shoes, but none of them were designed to be worn by a canine. Walking barefoot was still a necessity, unfortunately.

When he walked into the bathroom, at the sight of the shower, he could almost hear angels sing. It was an ordinary equipment, but the promise of the removal of the wastewater, with which his fur was impregnated for so long that he almost got used to the smell, tasted like salvation. The vulpine stepped under the shower head and stood still for a while, enjoying the anticipation of the flow, before turning on. The hot water trickling down his orange fur felt simply divine, he had the impression he was floating for a brief moment. He could spend the rest of his life here, under the stream carrying the urine away from his hairs. But all good things must come to an end.

Before dressing himself, the orange canine examined the wound on his thigh. The ache still did not allow him to walk normally, and its appearance wasn't reassuring. Fox suspected it might have gotten infected, which wouldn't be a surprise considering what he had to swim in.

_I think I saw a sick bay on the first deck, but I wouldn't know what to do in there. I'll just ask Wolf's help when he'll wake up._

"In the meantime, don't get too ugly, okay?" he told to his wound, as if it could respond.

Wolf... The vulpine continued thinking about him, once he got back in his seat, in the cockpit. What exactly happened to him? How did he learn their language? What else did he know? Fox had so many questions, and was clueless as of how to ask them. Obviously, the lupine hasn't been on a summer camp, he would have to be delicate and tactful. Perhaps he wouldn't get anything out of him, and even if he did, there is no guarantee that it would be helpful. But no matter what, having a friend to talk to was... Wait, a friend? Since when Wolf was friend?! He didn't try to kill the vulpine, but that doesn't erase their history! Out of necessity, they temporarily buried the hatchet, that's all. He was still Wolf O'Donnell, and chances are that once they would be back around the sun of Lylat, hostilities would be resumed.

Speaking of the devil...

As he let his thoughts wander, his ears raised on his head when he perceived discrete footsteps behind him. He turned back to see a grey canine standing at the entrance, in the obscurity, wearing an outfit similar to his.

"You can go back to bed, I can manage."

"I'm not... Do you mind if I... stay here? ... I don't want..." Wolf said calmly and quietly, pausing between each sentence, before completing in his thought: _... to be alone._

"Oh... Of course not, have a seat."

By the was he slowly walked to the copilot's seat, Fox saw something changed inside the grey canine. He had nothing to do with the terrified lupine with whom he escaped. Now, he looked more sure of himself, his steps were calm, resolute, his face had recovered its placid and shadowy expression, and he got his deep and confident voice back. This was a lot more resembling the Wolf O'Donnell he knew, minus the angry and threatening attitude. His body, harshly marked by the recent events, seemed weaker than he would have imagined, but the ease of his moves betrayed the strength and the agility that used to be hidden under the skin, and that was still partially present. Seeing his rival like this, in casual clothes and without any trace of malicious intent, had an effect of the young vulpine, whose heartbeat increased slightly.

 _Wait... Really? For him?!_ Fox thought, as the proximity of the lupine made him feel strangely nervous and uncomfortable. _No, it can't be that. You're just tired, Fox, that's all._

The grey canine, sitting on the copilot's seat, let his gaze sweeping the night sky, trying to empty his mind. He seemed as tired as if he just ran five marathons in a row. Fox began to feel anxious, mostly because he knew he would eventually have to break the ice somehow, and couldn't anticipate the lupine's reaction.

"So... How do you feel?"

Such a question, in this particular context, could sounds like mockery or sarcasm if pronounced in an improper tone. The vulpine felt he wasn't walking on eggshells, but on baby heads with ice skate. To his satisfaction, the lupine didn't seem to take it badly.

"It's over..." Wolf quietly let out.

Not sure of what to answer, he let silence settle, hoping the lupine would pursue. Seeing it probably wouldn't be the case, he asked:

"What is over, exactly?"

The grey canine turned his head towards him. The absence of patch let his white left eye exposed, as he was looking directly at Fox. Now that he was calm, he was much harder to read, but the vulpine could perceive a hint of relief and gratitude in his look. No sign of mistrust or animosity. As they kept looking at each other, the orange canine felt the sudden urge to break eye contact, before his mind was again filled with nervousness and confusion. Could it be... No, no way. He couldn't possibly feel that for him! Sure, Wolf was indubitably an attractive specimen, but he's probably not into men anyway. And even if he is, the guy's still Wolf O'Donnell. All eventualities of both canines having a thing going on belonged forever to the realm of non-existence, case closed.

"Do you know if there is something to eat around here?" the lupine asked.

"Yes, I think there is a kitchen over... You know what, let's lunch."

The orange canine got up out of his seat and exited the cockpit, followed by the grey one. They both arrived in a room with numerous cabinets on the walls, a sink, and a table at the centre of it. Although their eyes were fully accustomed to the obscurity, the vulpine still felt the need to light the place up a bit, for the sake of visibility. Fox made him a sign to sit down, and started searching the cabinets. He found one filled with white sachets, whose shape and consistence left no room for doubt regarding their content.

"Lucky us, there's lyophilized food on the menu today." Fox said with a point of irony, in the hope of raising a reaction from the lupine, in vain.

He took two of those, opened them, and added some water, before handing one of them to the grey canine.

"Hold on, let me just fetch a-"

Fox didn't have time to say _fork_ before the grey canine already began eagerly and vociferously devouring his meal, shoving his bare paw inside the sachet and swallowing the content, barely chewing, not having the will to respect basic conventions of civility and courtesy. His movements were clumsy and without delicacy, consequently he did quit a mess, on the table and on himself. In less time than it took the reader to read this paragraph, Wolf had finished his meal.

"Wow, okay... You want mine?" Fox asked, taken aback, presenting the other sachet to the famished lupine. "I'll just pick another one."

Wolf, his cheeks and his muzzle covered in food, nodded quietly, before the vulpine handed him the second sachet. At the view of his furry dirty face, Fox sensed once again his heartbeat slightly accelerating, as his mind was filled with a warm fuzziness he definitely recognised. The butterflies... Of course. He couldn't explain why, but it was at this moment he realized what he was truly feeling. He consistently tried to fight it from the instant Wolf came in the cockpit, but this time, he could not escape it, no matter the justification he tried to come up with.

"Shit." the orange canine let out.

"There's a _f_ ro _v_ lem?" Wolf asked with his mouth full.

"No, nothing." he replied while taking another sachet in the cabinet.

_You're cute, that's the problem._

At first, Fox was disconcerted and amused by the eagerness of his grey friend. But as he began eating his own meal, he realized what could be the cause of this unusual appetite.

"They starved you, didn't they?" he asked once Wolf was done.

The lupine slowly nodded, with a dark and grievous expression on his face.

"I saw you can understand their language. How come?"

"They... There were those... I don't know... tests, you could say. They planted some kind of wires with needle in my head and in my back, they lied cards on a table in front of me with words and pictures, and I had to combine them correctly. When the answer was right, they gave me a tiny bit of food. When not, they gave me an electric shock, which went stronger with each mistake... And they repeated until... until I inevitably passed out."

Despite his soft, hesitant but steady tone, Fox could read on the lupine's face that he didn't enjoy rehashing those memories. A part of him was sickened by those revelations, but another part was morbidly curious.

"Don't assume my level is good, but... Yeah... I know some basic words."

"Who are they? I mean... What happened to you exactly?"

Wolf didn't answer for a moment. He was torn between telling the truth to his orange friend, and trying to bury those painful memories so deep he would completely forget them. He grabbed a towel and wiped his face, before taking a deep breath.

"I... After what you did, I guess you deserve the story... But you better finish eating first, it ain't exactly pretty.

"You remember the storm, right? Okay, I'll continue from there. There were those flashes, and then... nothing. The storm had suddenly disappeared, and I was in the middle of nowhere, with a Wolfen completely out of use. I waited, maybe, six hours, before I saw in the distance a big spacecraft coming towards me.

"When they were close enough they... abducted me, sort of. I mean, I don't know how they did that, but they could move my Wolfen, and they made it land inside their ship. At first, I was relieved to see someone helping me, and then as I got out, I saw them and...

"The... I don't remember that part accurately. At first they seemed surprised to see me coming out of my cockpit, and... Did we exchange fire? Maybe, I don't know... Anyway, I'm not sure how, but they neutralized me, and I woke up in... the room where you found me, without my gun, my clothes, or even my eye patch. That's... that's where the ugly part starts.

"After a while, two guys... actually, one was a woman... they came in. I tried to attack them but they were armed, with some kind of electric non-lethal things. They attached me on the table, and... and the guy, he... he..."

His breathing was louder and faster. The vulpine could see telling this story made him feel nervous and unwell. Wolf took some time to calm himself down, before pursuing.

"He... Let me show you."

The lupine stood up and removed his shirt, exposing his grey fur to the artificial light, and made to Fox a sign to come closer. He approached and began to examine a region on the grey torso Wolf was pointing at. Had it happen in another context, Fox would be aroused and pleased by the smell, the proximity, the – dare I say – intimacy, but now he had to focus on the seriousness of the matter. He noticed, among the scars, one that was deeper than the others, that started from his clavicle and disappeared under the pant.

"They... cut you open?! Just like that?! But why?"

"I have no idea... I couldn't understand what they were saying. My guess is, they wanted to study me, and to see how I was inside. They were... They put their hands in... Oh Fox, it hurt, it hurt so much..."

Wolf had put his shirt back on, and was holding his belly, as if the memories of this day were enough to reactivate the pain.

"That guy... Was that the one you killed when I came?"

Wolf nodded.

"And... And that was just the first day..."

"Wait... The first day? Wolf, how long have you been here?"

The lupine seemed to think a bit, before shrugging.

"I don't know... Two months? Three? I never saw the sunlight, I had no sense of time."

"What?! But... I arrived here barely two days ago! And I was just behind you!"

"Hmm... Well, what do you want me to say? I have no idea how we got here either."

Silence settled for a while, allowing both canine to process these informations. Eventually, Wolf continued.

"As I said, the... the first day was one of the best, actually. Every day, they came up with a new test, a new experience. Every. Fucking. Day. Some of them were... just... beyond cruelty. Once, they came with a wolf, but... I don't know how to explain... It wasn't a wolf like me, it wasn't a wolf like anyone we met..."

"Let me guess: it walked on four feet, and couldn't talk?"

"Exactly. You met one too?"

"Yes, a bunch of those tried to eat me."

"Oh... Yeah, every specie is like that. Except them. Here, they're the only one capable of... intelligence, while all other animals are still eating their own shit. Don't ask why, I have no idea...

"So, they brought this stupid wolf, and... the woman... she cut its throat, right in front of me. At first, I thought they wanted to study my reaction. But when they left the body in the room, and stopped bringing food for... like, three days... then I understood what they wanted me to do. They wanted to see how long it would take... for hunger to force me to... to..."

Wolf had gotten up, anxious and stressed. His paws were trembling, and his breathing had become staccato, as if he was on the verge of crying. Fox had the impression the lupine had a lump in his throat, and that tears were trying to come out of his eyes. He couldn't finish, but the rest was obvious to the vulpine. The memory of the wolf pack eating their mate alive came back to him, and he had to do his best not to imagine Wolf in this situation.

"And it went on like this, every day!" He started talking louder, faster, walking nervously in the kitchen, his ears flattened on his head. "They always found a new reason to open me, to inject me some stuff, to electrocute me, to torture me! It was so hurtful, most of the time I couldn't sleep at all. They... I'm pretty sure both of them were enjoying this. Sometimes I even heard them laughing! And-"

"Wolf calm down, you're hyperventilating!"

Fox had put a paw on his shoulder. During a brief moment, the lupine seemed just as panicked and terrified as he was in the station.

"It's in the past. I'm here, now."

"I'm sorry... Those memories... They're painful..."

"I see that. You don't have to tell the rest, I don't think I need to know more."

Wolf sat down, as his breathing became slower. By now, regaining his composure and self control was an exercise he was familiar with. To make the process easier, he gently grabbed Fox's arm in return. The vulpine was pleased to see his presence was enough to make his grey friend feel comfortable. Maybe they could get along, after all. Wolf raised his head and looked the orange canine in the eyes. As they kept staring each other, Fox couldn't help to wonder if the lupine felt something similar. In fact, he wondered what he felt at all. He was seeing a side of Wolf he never suspected, and regretted they didn't met before in friendly circumstances. They could have become good buddies, perhaps more.

"Now, you know what a nightmare you got me out of... I'm so glad you're here, Fox."

This was a nice thing to hear. In a way, the vulpine felt he deserved the recognition, but hearing it out loud made him appreciate his grey friend even more. Thinking about the oddity of the situation, he couldn't refrain from smiling.

"I said something funny?"

"No... I mean, yes, actually. It has been an absolutely crazy journey for me, and yet the strangest thing that happened is, by far, hearing you saying _I'm happy to see you, Fox_!"

Wolf smiled back, realizing how uncanny this line would have been if they were still in the Lylat system.

"Yeah... Choosing my friends isn't a luxury I can afford right now. I do what I can with what I got!"

His smile fade out, and his tone became serious again.

"I was sure you were somewhere, out there. I knew it. I imagined you, living your own life, while I was stuck in this hellish place. I figured out that if you didn't come to rescue me, nobody would have. I waited weeks, and weeks, hoping to see your orange furry face once...

"But deep down I knew it was futile, that there was no hope, and that I might better... you know... end the nightmare myself, if you see what I mean."

Wolf showed one of his wrist to the vulpine. He could see the hairless skin shredded, covered in scars.

"I did this myself... with my own teeth... Don't look at me like that, I... I had no other choice, I was hopeless...

"And you know the funny thing? It was useless. I just needlessly hurt myself, and on top of that, they understood what I was attempting, so they attached me permanently on the table, to prevent me from trying again. Then, I started refusing all the food they brought, so they fed me through intravenous infusion. Like the one you saw in my arm when you found me. They... they wouldn't even let me die...

"But... you came! You did show up, you son of a bitch! Even now I still can't believe it!"

"That's right. They can't hurt you, now that I'm here to protect you."

Wolf grinned from ear to ear, before bursting out laughing. The view filled the vulpine partly with an immense joy, as he felt the urge to join him in his laugh, and partly with humiliation, because he suspected the lupine laughed at him, even though he had no idea why.

"What? What did I say?"

"You're a good fella, Fox, but from now on I can be in charge of my own protection, you know!"

He put his paw in his pocket and took out a small blaster, waving it like a child who just received a cool toy.

"I found this in my room. The next umun who enter my field of vision, I'll blast the shit out of him, even if he just want to sell me tulips." He said as he put the weapon back in his pocket.

"The next what?"

"That's how they call themselves. Their specie, I mean. Umun, or uman, something like that. I haven't heard properly."

"Okay, so those... Umuns, they treat all other animals like you?"

"Not really. From what I understood, they use some specific species for some specific purposes. The fur of this specie for that, the skin of this one for that, the meat of this one for that, ... Kinda like how we treat fishes, when you think about it."

"They eat some land animals too?!"

"I know it might sound surprising, but if-"

"Wolf!!"

Confused by the reaction of the vulpine, he gave him a questioning look. The grey canine had no idea what caused the distress of his orange friend. Fox kept starring at him, disconcerted and worried about something... About what? They stayed like that for a few seconds, before Wolf's jaws dropped and his eyes opened in terror as he finally realized what the vulpine was concerned about. He nervously looked for one of the sachets, grabbed one, and read the inscription. He tried to remain placid, but he couldn't prevent himself from jumping a bit on his chair and gasping loudly. This reaction only made Fox even more nervous than he already was.

"What did we just eat?"

"You... You don't want to know."

"Tell me!"

"R... Rabbit."

Instinctively, Fox put a paw on his belly, as if it would help him refrain himself from throwing up. He had the sudden and uncomfortable sensation that the inside of his stomach was alive again and tried to escape. He tried not to think of the taste it had, of how it felt in his mouth... Despite his efforts, he couldn't convince himself that he didn't enjoyed eating it. He felt sick and ashamed, as if he just killed a rabbit he knew. The vulpine got up and started pacing around, in the hope of forgetting this sensation, but the wound on his leg made him wince.

_When telling the story to Peppy, I'll make sure to skip this passage..._

"Okay... Since you're the only one who can read, from now on you're in charge of the food. Just make sure we don't eat things we talked to, alright?"

"Sure... Hey, are you fine? I have the impression you can't walk normally since we met."

"One of those... er... umun, he shot me in the leg, and it hurts every time I move. I think... I fear it's infected, but I'm not sure. I could use your help."

"Say no more, that's the least I can do! What do you need from me?"

"There's a sick bay, and I don't know how to use it. Since you can read, I thought you might help me."

"Sure, lead the way then."

Wolf followed the vulpine through the spacecraft. Fox could deduce from his tone and his gait that he was more vigorous, punchy than before. The recent talk and the contact with each other obviously had a relieving and energizing effect on him. Good. The orange canine didn't like seeing his grey buddy silent and gloomy. Actually, he realized he genuinely cared for the lupine, and suspected (at least hoped) the feeling was mutual. Isn't it strange how fast things can change? For Fox, only two days passed since they were trying to kill each other, yet it seemed so far away already. He found hard to believe that this wolf was the same he used to chase around the sun of Lylat.

When they reached the sick bay, the canines were welcomed by the characteristic scent of disinfectant that all hospitals have. Fox's attention was immediately drawn to a rudimentary hospital bed with two robotic arms, one on each side. Apart from that, the rest seemed pretty common. He pointed the installation to the lupine.

"You know how to use this?"

"Let's find out. It shouldn't be rocket science."

He moved to a touchscreen next to the bed, and started navigating the menu. His knowledge of this language was far from perfect, and this vocabulary was particularly new, so it took him some time before figuring out how the machine operated.

"Okay... Hum... I think... I think I found an option for this kind of wound."

"You think, or you're sure?"

"I... think I'm sure."

"Sure? Or sure sure?"

"Sure sure... Kinda."

"Wolf, it's serious. This is my leg we're talking about."

"Alright, I'm just teasing you. Go on, take your pants off and sit on the bed."

"You guarantee me it will work?"

"Yeah... More or less."

Fox let out a deep annoyed sigh, and followed his instructions. He was surprised to see the lupine joking after all the suffering he went through. Apparently, it wasn't enough to deprive him from his sense of humour. As soon as he sat down, on of the arms reacted to his presence, making the vulpine uncomfortable.

"Be sure not to move, otherwise the machine might go crazy and crush your femur."

"Hilarious."

He tried to hide his apprehension and to appear confident, but Wolf clearly saw that he was worried and insecure near the machine. After some manipulations on the screen, one of the arm grabbed Fox's leg just above the knee, and hold it firmly against the bed, while the other began to scan the area, looking for the wound.

"It says it will hurt a little."

"... A little?"

"Yup, and that I should give you something to bite because... Uh, that's unexpected... Oh no, Fox, I think I just programmed an amputation!!"

"YOU DID WHAT?!!"

Wolf tried to keep a terrified face, in vain. The shocked reaction of the vulpine exceeded all his expectations, and he couldn't stop himself from laughing at the momentary state of absolute panic of the vulpine. Fox, however, wasn't that amused. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest.

"You think you're funny?!"

"A bit! Damn, I should have taken a picture of your face!" His laugh eventually fade out. "But seriously, it says it will hurt."

"I never suspected you were a joker. Are you also like that with your teammates?"

"Nope, only with you. Their reactions aren't half as funny."

When the arm found the wound, it penetrated under the skin and started the procedure. Fox couldn't see anything, but had the impression that a dozens of tiny insects where running in his veins. The dolour and the sensation of extreme cold made him squint, flatten his ears and grit his teeth, as he struggled to contain a groan of pain. Although it only lasted barely twenty seconds, he felt like he was enduring this for minutes. When both arms finally retracted themselves, he exhales loudly, realizing he had hold his breath during the entire procedure.

"Fox, could you..."

"Hmm? Oh, sorry."

Because of the pain, the vulpine had unconsciously grabbed the Wolf's arm, and was squeezing it firmly. When he released his grip, an awkward silence settled, before Fox tried to get up. However, he forgot that his leg was temporarily numb, and he would have kissed the ground if the lupine, catching him at the right time, hadn't quick reflexes. After he helped him back on his feet, they stood still for a while, holding each other. Fox could feel the breath of the grey canine. The scent of the lupine had become familiar, but now it seemed more strong and mesmerizing than usual. At this moment, all he wanted was nudging his head on his neck and falling asleep in his arms. He was so close to him, his grey mouth was right in front of his face, waiting to be ki...

_Fox, quit thinking about that kind of stuff, you'll just embarrass yourself! Just because he's friendly doesn't mean he likes you. You're thinking like a teenager._

For the vulpine's greatest relief, Wolf eventually broke the silence.

"You think you can walk on your own?"

"Sure, it feels better already." Fox replied as he touched his wound, satisfied.

"So... What do we do now?"

"Good question. We must find a way of heading back to the Lylat system... But how?"

"We have no clue how we even got here..."

Wolf lowered his hears, realizing how difficult it would be for them to go home, perhaps even impossible. Fox started pacing in the sick bay, trying to accustom himself to his temporarily weaker leg, and making his best not to discourage himself.

"Let's review what we know. This is the storm that brought us here. We agree on that?"

"Of cou... Oh, you're thinking about finding a similar storm that could bring us back?"

"The idea did cross my mind, but... I'm not confident."

"Why? I think this is our best shot! I mean, I never saw anything like that, it must have been a rare event. But if it happened once it can happen again... Right?"

"I wouldn't be so sure. Beside, even if we found one, we have no guarantee it will take us in the Lylat system and not somewhere else."

"Honestly, any place is better than this one! If those fuckers aren't there, I don't see how it could be worse."

"Are you sure? What if... What if we encounter a life form even worse than them? What if we end up somewhere with no life at all? We'll just die of hunger!"

"Still better than staying here."

Wolf's last line cast a chill. It was the turn of Fox's ears to drop down, disappointed in the behaviour of the lupine, whose determination might lead them to even greater troubles. Still trying to find hope where he could, he made a suggestion.

"Shouldn't we try to see where we are first?"

"Why not." Wolf replied, shrugging. "I guess it's the only lead we have."

Both canines made their way back in the cockpit. Wolf, leading the path, frequently looked behind him, to make sure his orange friend didn't stumble. Usually, Fox hated being mothered like that, but there was something in the lupine's attitude that advised him not to reject any of his acts of friendliness. He was right about one thing: here, choosing their friends wasn't an option. From now on, they only had each other, and if Wolf wanted to be kind, he shouldn't push him back.

The grey canine sat in the cockpit and took a look around, before briefly examining the console.

"So, that's the thing I have to try..."

"Hmm?"

"Isn't it what you said? _Wolf, you have to try flying this!_ ?"

Wolf began searching through the menu on the computer.

"Oh, definitely! Trust me, you never flew such a beauty. Their engineering is beyond astonishing."

"Let's see, the map... It says ' _something_ projection', I guess... holographic, maybe?"

Right after the lupine touched the screen, the windows became opaque, completely darkening the room, before a big hologram of the bi-solar system appeared between them. Fox approached his paw, as if he was trying to touch the representation of the two stars and the planet. He noticed that a tooltip appeared near the objects close to his paw.

"Well well well, if it ain't some fancy shit!" The grey canine exclaimed.

"That's actually cool, honestly! Look, here's the planet where I crashed, the station we flew away from, ..." He moved his paw to the stars. "I can't understand the infos. What does it says?"

"Size, temperature, stuff like that. Oh, and the name too. Beta Cygni, rings any bell?"

"No, and the opposite would have been surprising. Could you try to zoom out a bit?"

The hologram brusquely shrank, leaving barely enough time to Fox to spot two or three orbits of other planets, before the solar system went from the size of a table to the size of a pinpoint.

"You went too far away, we can't see anything."

"Woopsie, my bad. I underestimated the sensitivity. Let me just-"

"No stop, don't touch anything!"

Wolf froze, surprised by the sudden reaction of the vulpine. He was about to ask for some clarification when he noticed what his friend was staring at. On the edge of the hologram, a tiny white dot was suspended in the air. When Fox approached his paw, another tooltip appeared, similar to the one of the first stars.

"It's just the nearest star. So what?"

"Why would they give details about the stars around them, on a navigation map?"

"No idea... Are you thinking about something?"

"Indeed. Zoom out as far as possible."

The lupine complied, and a multitude of white dots continuously appeared on the edge of the holographic representation and converged towards the centre, at first by the dozens, then by the hundreds, as they kept zooming out, revealing more and more stars at every second. Their ears rose up and their jaws dropped when the zooming eventually slowed down and stopped, unveiling an imposing and majestic galaxy, stretching its four nebulous arms in the entire cockpit. The entire room was illuminated by the aggregate of billions of stars, projecting their light on the baffled canines.

"It's an entire galaxy! Wolf, I think they colonized an entire galaxy!"

"What?! But... Hold on a minute."

After the lupine made some manipulations on the screen, thousands of stars, scattered in the disk, became coloured, the majority in orange, and the rest in green.

"The colonized worlds are in green, and in orange the habitable, but not yet colonized. So it's true... It's a galactic civilization!"

"It means they found out how to exceed light speed... They mastered interstellar travel! I told you their engineering is impressive!"

"Does it mean... Fox, is our spacecraft capable of, like, going anywhere in the galaxy? If yes, then we'll be home by tomorrow!" Wolf said, overwhelmed with excitement, as he started to stomp.

"What? How?"

"We just have to found where the Lylat system is, and boom, here we go!"

"I don't think Lylat is here. Had it been the case, they would have stumbled on us a long time ago and we would have heard about them. Beside, I'm absolutely certain our galaxy doesn't look like that."

To the discouraging words of Fox, the ears of the lupine dropped, as the extinction of this ray of hope suddenly calmed him down. Regretting having trampled on his hope, the vulpine tried repair the harm.

"Perhaps I see a way..."

"Really?"

"Well, I was thinking about the storm again... They seem to be rare on the scale of one solar system. But look, there are billions of them! Maybe, galaxy-wide, those storms are not so uncommon."

"Of course... You're right!" The lupine's faces lightened up. "All we must do is to reach the next storm as soon as it shows up. They must have a kind of... interstellar weather service, or some shit that could detect those events."

"So we must monitor all the... channels, or frequencies, or whatever, until they notify something."

"I'll need your help for that, you'll have to understand their language. We could learn it together in the meantime."

"Great! And how to travel between stars, also."

"Awesome!" Hope and excitement had regained the heart of the canines. Although their chances were thin, it was sill better than zero. "That sounds like a plan!"

"And what if we end up in another unknown galaxy?"

"I guess we'll have to repeat the process until we're home."

Fox let out a chuckle. "That sounds like a potentially exhaustingly long ride. You think you can withstand it?"

"With such a formidable pilot by my side, that should be manageable."

 _Was that a compliment?!_ Fox thought, as he felt his heart jumping in his chest and his tail began to wag. Wolf noticed, satisfied, that the vulpine was responsive to his remark.

"Hey, after what you did for me, you fully deserve that title."

"About that... You remember when I fell in the stairs?"

"Yup. Why?"

"You were right in front of the space hangar. You could have just... walked away and save your skin."

"... And?"

"Why? Why haven't you done it?"

Joy disappeared from Wolf's face. He stared at the vulpine through the hologram, stumped and offended by his question. From the long silence that followed, during which the lupine kept looking straight in his green eyes as if he was trying to decipher his soul, Fox deduced that he should have kept it for himself.

"Are you serious?"

Confused, the vulpine didn't know what to respond, nor how to interpret his friend's reaction.

"Abandoning the guy who saved me? You really think I'm capable of doing that?"

Of course. Only an unprecedented bastard could act this despicably. And by asking the question, he was implying Wolf could potentially be this unprecedented bastard. He felt ashamed by his inquiry.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have... But I thought... I thought you hesitated for a moment, and I was wondering..."

"Yes. I thought of it. I _imagined_ it. But I could never have acted on it. It was just a thought. Just like when a cute boy pass by, you imagine things. Not on-"

"Cute... _boy_?"

"I meant girl. Whatever, that's not the point. The point is..."

_He definitely said cute boy... Could he be... Oh gosh, there might be a chance! ... A chance that I just screw up. Congratulation, Fox, you're even dumber than you thought! Why can't you just keep your mouth shut when you have to?_

"... The point is, I could never have left you into their hands, that would have been monstrous. Come on, you can't possibly think so low of me!"

"I'm sorry, but... We spent our time trying to kill each other, you can't blame me for not expecting you to offer me an ice cream!"

During the silence that followed, Wolf stared at the ground, thinking carefully about his next words. He slowly walked through the hologram and stopped close to the vulpine, before speaking softly but firmly.

"Listen. I know we took different paths, and that their mutual incompatibility led us to hostile interactions, to say the least. Although I'm not happy with it, that's just how things were. But it's important that you know this, Fox: ..."

During his talk, the orange canine kept his head down, embarrassed, wishing he had remained silent. It seemed they were beginning to build a friendship (or something more perhaps), and his inquiry felt totally unnecessary. The lupine gently grabbed his chin, and slowly raised his head so that they were eyeball to eyeball.

"... I'm not an immoral monster."

"I'm sorry. I always had a preconception of you... I never considered if it was sensible. Please, don't take it badly."

"It's alright. As you said, you used to fear me, and I can't really blame you for that. But that's not the case anymore, right?"

"Of course! Clearly you're... erm..."

_Come one, Fox, think of something nice to say. It's your chance of fixing this mess._

"You're... hot. I mean cool!"

"Cool?"

"Yeah! ... And... totally... like, not evil."

_What the hell are you doing?!_

"Cool and not evil. Got it."

When Wolf turned away, Fox had the impression the lupine was slighty disappointed. He truly wanted him to understand there were no more fear or animosity between them, and it seemed the grey canine wasn't convinced. He tried, clumsily, to salvage the situation.

"But not just that! I mean, you're also funny, and... caring and... handso... er... well... ahem... nice!"

The lupine stopped and looked at his orange friend, with a grin on his face, and asked amusedly.

"Are you flirting with me?"

"Whaaat? No! It's just that you asked what I thought of you and well so I mean what-was-I-supposed-to-say-oh-it's-late-I'm-tired-I'm-going-to-bed bye!"

Embarrassed beyond measurement, the vulpine walked energetically out of the cockpit and made his way to his room, trying to put as much distance as possible with the awkward performance he just gave. If a ghost witnessed the scene, it would be rolling on the floor laughing at this ridiculous attempt to build the way for a good relation with the grey canine... But was it that bad? Sure, he made a fool of himself, but the lupine seemed to have understood his message, to have understood that he trusted him. Also... _Are you flirting with me_... Was that a joke? Or did he guess? Did he know? What should he do? Should he try to push further? Should he pretend nothing happened?

And that is how, tormented by a myriad of similar questions, Fox tried, with great difficulty, to fall asleep, while his grey friend stayed in the cockpit, gazing at the holographic representation of the galaxy, trying to understand what just happened. Why did the vulpine acted like this? Was he intimidated? Or... Or was he actually flirting? He reviewed all their conversations, to figure out if Fox also cherished the hope of a relationship. He remembered, when he grabbed his chin and was looking straight in his beautiful green eyes, the sensation of having crossed a line. At this moment, he had thought about slowly moving his paw up to his orange ears, and caressing his furry head, but at the time it appeared to him that the gesture would have been way too intimate. But if Fox also wanted something to happen between them, then maybe...

He shut the map down, sat in front of the console and put his feet on it. Now that he was with Fox, the road ahead seemed much brighter. Whatever the future planned for them, it surely looked interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm don't know all the lore, so I'm not sure if interstellar travel isn't already a thing in this universe, please please please don't beat me if it's the case! :)  
> (Wow, exactly 22222 words! I promise it's unintentional!)


	4. Two canines in outer space

For anyone who is not accustomed, sleeping in space can be a disturbing experience. In the total absence of day and night cycle, the brain interprets everything as the sign of the coming of dawn or dusk. Any thud will sound like thunder, any spark will have the intensity of a thousand suns. In such conditions, maintaining a proper biological routine can be challenging, a challenge every pilot of Corneria were duly trained to overcome. The technique consists, to put it simply, of forcing the brain to completely ignore almost all external stimuli, and the keyword here is _almost_. The reader will agree, for example, that it would be unfortunate if a whole regiment dies in a fire because nobody heard the alarm.

It was necessary for some specific stimuli not to be ignored, such as the smell of burning, or a sudden change of temperature. To achieve this, one solution has been found: brainwashing. The fresh recruits were regularly exposed to an extreme treatment (whose details I will keep for myself and my nightmares) such that even a barely perceptible odour of smoke would plunge them in a state of absolute panic. This was radical, and ethically dubious, but hey, as long as it works... A common joke, among regular soldiers, is to say that when a pilot leaves the army, he can always find a job as a smoke detector (the joke works better if the pilot is a canine, or any specie with a keen sense of smell).

All of this to say that the awakening of Fox was quick and brutal, at the very moment a faint odour of burning reached his nose. He did not know how long he slept, but he felt rested enough to deal with the emergency. Imagining the worse, he descended the stairs, four steps at a time, his heart racing in his chest, all of his sense on alert. His ears were straight up on his head, moving in all directions, ready to pick up any noise that might indicate him the nature or the location of the problem. Oh crap... The engines, on the lower deck, that's where it came from.

_No no no, of all the places, not the engines!_

When the vulpine abruptly entered in the dark and hot room, he saw a grey canine, in front of a large horizontal pipe, pouring on it water from a bucket he was holding. He uttered a collection of curse words as he was looking, concerned, at the thick black clouds that were forming as the water instantaneously vaporised through contact with the burning hot pipe.

Hearing the rapid footsteps of his orange friend, Wolf, the face darkened by soot, gave him an embarrassed look, as if he was trying to telepathically apologize himself.

"Shit, I knew the smell would wake you up... Sorry about that."

"What's the matter?!"

"Everything's alright, I got it under control."

"The engines are burning!"

"The engines are fine. I told you, everything's alright. Just chill out a bit."

Fox followed the advice and forced himself to breathe slower. Nothing was burning, the ship was intact, no danger was in sight, everything was fine... He took a look closer, only to see that his friend wasn't pouring water on the pipe itself, but on an object the vulpine could only describe as a black brick, lying on the conduit. Whatever it was, the combustion seemed to have permanently stopped. Wolf took some gloves, and sent the shapeless object to the floor. Intrigued, Fox sniffed the air, but his nose could only detect the hot odour of the engines and a strong smell of burning.

"What happened?" he asked once he fully calmed himself down.

"Erm..." replied Wolf, with shame and embarrassment. "I... I couldn't figure out how to make the oven in the kitchen work, so I resorted to... an alternative solution."

"... I'm sorry, what? The oven?"

"Yeah, I... Damn, I feel so dumb..."

Wolf paused between each sentence, trying to figure out how he could make this absurd (but true) story believable, and how not to make a fool of himself in the process. But the truth was too funny and stupid for the second task to be possible.

"I tried to bake something, and the oven... I don't know how it works, and I thought... about the engines... They were hot enough, obviously, so I... Well... I tried... I mean... I tried to use their heat... Ahem..."

He pointed at the black brick on the floor.

"It's supposed to be... bread."

Confronted to the contrast between his worst expectations and the reality, Fox couldn't help but to burst into uncontrollable laughter. He had to grab the handrails in order not to collapse, while his other paw was holding his belly. He was ready to witness the very fire of hell raging around the most critical part of their ship, and instead he found a clumsy wolf who used the heat of the exhaust duct to make break! He tried to cool down, but at the moment his eyes met the lupine's, at the moment he saw him awkwardly standing, not knowing what to do with his paws, his face covered with soot, his laughter started again with renewed vigour. At first embarrassed beyond description, the poor grey canine started giggling too. The mood of the vulpine was too contagious to be ignored.

"You tried to make bread? Like, from scratch?"

"Well... You see, I explored our spacecraft, and I found a huge reserve with sugar, flour, stuff like that. Not the lyophilized shit from yesterday. And I was thinking... I wanted you to find proper food when you wake up... I thought you would appreciate."

_Awwww!_

The vulpine kept his exclamation in his mind, but his wagging tail and his smile betrayed his gratitude.

"But I do appreciate! After all, it's the thought that counts."

"Actually, that was the second loaf." Wolf said, pointing at the black brick lying on the floor. "I made another one right before, on something that wasn't as hot as the pipe, but I had the impression it was undercooked."

He grabbed a towel on a machine at his side to reveal a vaguely potato-shaped brown loaf. Intrigued by the scent, Fox joined his grey friend next to his modest accomplishment, before taking a piece the lupine had just torn off and handed him.

"I've never tried this before. You wanna check it out? Don't expect haute cuisine, though..."

"Shouldn't we go up first? It's bloody hot down here."

The two canines made their way to the cockpit. This wasn't a place to eat, but the seat were the most comfortable in the spacecraft. Wolf kept a straight face as the piece of bread approached Fox's mouth, however the vulpine noticed the grey tail slightly wagging in anticipation. It's hard for a canine to lie or to hide something to another canine. Maybe the bread was severely under-cooked, nonetheless the vulpine's nose was overwhelmed with a warm and soft smell at the moment the piece entered his mouth. Actual food was not common during long space travels, except on special occasions, and one must learn how to appreciate all those occasions in order to make the journey more endurable. The lupine tore another piece off and was about to join his orange friend in his silent breakfast.

"I don't think I'm able to differentiate between good bread and bad bread." Fox said. "But still... I love it."

"... You do?"

"Sincerely. For a first time, it's truly not bad at all!"

The grey tail started to wag with greater speed and amplitude, as a proud smile began to appear on a face Wolf was trying to keep straight, before he started eating too. For a while, the mastication of the canines was the only audible sound echoing in the room. Both of them were too busy silently enjoying their rudimentary breakfast to chat. Bread always taste better when it is self-made, and also when shared with a friend, therefore one can easily understand how cheerful Wolf felt, despite his effort to hide it, especially considering he hadn't eaten proper food for some time.

"Hey Fox."

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever seen a car crash in a tunnel?" Wolf asked, his mouth full.

"Uh... No?"

The lupine opened his jaws to reveal the inside of his mouth, exposing a formless mud, result of the mixing between saliva and half-chewed bread, to the shocked eyes of the vulpine, whose disgust was easy to read.

"Gross!"

Wolf silently giggled in response.

_Sometimes his humour is beyond my understanding. It's strange how he stays placid and serene all the time, except when he cracks a joke. Somehow, I really like that about him. I wish... I wish I was brave enough be direct, Wolf, but I'm too afraid of irremediably screwing everything up. Our friendship isn't to be sacrificed on the altar of potential romance._

"Now we have a lot of work ahead of us." The lupine exclaimed once they were finished.

"What do you mean?"

The grey canine looked around him, thinking. Eventually, he pointed a finger at himself, and pronounced a word Fox never heard before.

"What?" the vulpine asked, confused.

"That's how they say _wolf_." he clarified, before saying the word again, slowly and clearly.

Fox repeated the word, trying to grasp the nuances of the pronunciation. When the makeshift teacher seemed to be satisfied, he pointed his finger at his student, and uttered another unknown word.

"This was _fox._ "

The vulpine repeated the process, before asking:

"Can you translate any sentence?"

"I can try."

Fox took some time to cogitate.

"Okay... How about: the cognitive ability to extrapolate informations from incomplete data in order to mentally construct a meaningful approximation of reality can be understood as an unconventional dichotomy regarding the nat-"

"Listen here you little shit..."

* * *

"... stood in front of the crowd, dressed as a... as a what?"

The green eyes of the vulpine were running over the text on the computer screen. It was a short article, talking about the mayor of some distant planet who made a speech to commemorate the end of some distant war. The story made the news, since he arrived completely drunk, and dressed as a... and, right there, another unknown word was lying, taunting its orange reader in his ignorance. The rest of the sentence was crystal clear, which only made the frustration of Fox stronger.

 _Well, another new word for today,_ he thought. _But what does it mean?_

He browsed through the article, and stumbled across a picture of an old umun, laboriously standing on a small balcony, wearing a pink cape and an equally pink pointy hat, both of these covered in five branched stars. What was this costume supposed to represent? The orange canine remembered having seen this pattern somewhere else.

_This was... in a children book, I think..._

The vulpine thought hard and long, before the satisfactory epiphany eventually hit him, as if he just discovered the meaning of life.

_A wizard! This is a wizard's costume! He stood in front of the crowd, dressed as a wizard._

He grabbed a pen to write the formerly unknown word and _wizard_ next to it, at the bottom of a list containing a dozen of similar expressions. Now, he knew what was the article about. Satisfied, he stretched on his chair.

"Good morning sunshine."

Wolf just entered the kitchen, full of freshness, confidence and nonchalance, like he always was after a good night of sleep. To the surprise of the vulpine, he was walking shirtless, letting his thick grey fur reflect the light of the ceiling, to the delight of the orange canine.

" _Me understand_ _not_ _._ " he replied, in the umun language.

The lupine let out a deep annoyed sigh, before throwing at Fox a glare full of lassitude.

"Please, I don't want to train now. I just woke up."

" _Training important!_ "

Wolf rolled his eyes.

" _Fine. Morning good to you, Fox._ "

" _Evening good to you also._ _Sandwiches, made by me for you,_ _t_ _here._ " he said while pointing at the lupine's breakfast on the table.

"Oh Fox, you're a champ... Erm... _Me_ _pleased am, because good action of you._ "

The lupine took a chair and started eating, before pursuing:

" _Me made_ _weird_ _dream, about you._ "

"Aww... Uh, I mean: _me do what in dream of you_?"

" _You and Falco,_ _very_ _very tall_ _,_ _broke_ _buildings._ "

Fox couldn't refrain a quiet laugh.

"What the fuck? ... I don't know how to say that in their language... But what the fuck?"

"I told you, a weird dream." the lupine replied, shrugging.

"I have the impression we're getting better. You?"

"Somewhat. Reading is definitely easier, though."

As he was eagerly eating his sandwich, Wolf approached his orange buddy and took a look at the list of new words.

"Aluminium... Circular... Commemorate... Wizard... Is _wizard_ necessary? I don't think we'll hear it a lot."

Several weeks had passed since they escaped from the station, inside the stolen ship that had become their new home. All this time, the canines maintained a constant twenty four hours long routine: for eight hours, Wolf sleeps while Fox monitors every channel they have at their disposal. The objective is twofold: to gather new words in order to expand their vocabulary as much as possible (the dictionary they build piece by piece over time was now impressive), and to detect a potential cosmic storm. Then the lupine joins his friend for four hours, during which he has to learn the newly discovered words. Afterwards, Fox go to bed and Wolf takes his place, again during eight hours, before they meet again for four hours, and so on. Thus, there always was an awake canine in command, which only made their monitoring more efficient. Moreover, this was the standard procedure for space travels they have been taught.

Wolf was taking their mission seriously, as if his life depended on it. The only objective that was relevant to his eyes was getting back home, the rest didn't matter. Fox, on the other hand, saw their return in the Lylat system as a distant promise, a prayer thrown in the wind in the vague hope of an answer. The time spent in the company of his grey buddy had more value to him than a hypothetical salvation that may have irrevocably turned a deaf ear already. Over the days, they became closer, and their mutual trust was now indisputable. For the lupine, the purpose of the hours spent together was only to make the journey more bearable, but his orange friend cherished dearly those moments, since they were for him the most important part of their trip.

The vulpine's gaze was locked for a while on the naked torso of his teammate. When Wolf noticed it, he briefly examined himself, expecting to find the cause of this behaviour, before throwing at Fox an interrogative look.

"I'm pretty, am I not?" the lupine said mockingly with a grin on his face.

"Oh yes, you're so hands... Ahem... I was just thinking... You have a much healthier glow than when I first picked you up!"

Indeed, the grey fur had fully grown back, hiding the majority of the scars (except for the large one, running across his whole upper body), and he had recovered some the muscle mass that was once lost, thanks to the daily trainings the canines were imposing themselves. Fox even had the impression the face was more colourful, despite the fur only displaying nuances of grey.

"Thanks mate, you're in pretty good shape too."

"I just meant that you really used to look like shit."

"I don't think it was physically possible to become worse. But still, I do appreciate the remark."

Both tails were wagging as the grey canine let himself collapse on a chair across the table. While he was enjoying his meal, Fox let his gaze stagnate on him, as if it would reveal to him yet undiscovered details.

_Damn, this is a fur I want to rub. Is he really that good-looking, or is it just my biased perception? ... Well, I guess both options can be true simultaneously._

He unconsciously kept staring at Wolf for a while, lost in thought. The lupine noticed his mate's look, and locked eye contact. The absence of reaction led him to infer that the orange canine was simply staring at nothing. When Fox eventually realized the lupine was giving him back his gaze, he abruptly turned his head to the computer and pretended to work, hoping no unwanted conclusion had emerged in the mind of his friend.

"Still no purple storm?"

Wolf knew very well that had it been the case, the vulpine would have told him immediately. But he still felt the need to ask, for the sake of certainty.

"No, unfortunately. I tried to go through scientific databases to see if they have a record of a similar event, but my vocabulary in the domain is way too limited for now."

"I understand. I encountered the same problem when trying to figure out how to travel beyond light speed. Their conception of physics, of space and time, is just... beyond me. I'm tempted to say far-fetched, but I guess that they wouldn't have such complicated models if they were unnecessary."

"I'm completely lost too. I expected, you know... You just enter three-dimensional coordinates in the computer, and boom! But no. All the things the system requires you to take into account... It's like if distances and time periods weren't absolute, and weren't properly defined on such a big scale."

"Wow, you understood that? You're still way ahead of me."

Fox turned the screen off. He felt he worked sufficiently long, and even if it wasn't the case, he hadn't enough motivation to pursue, now that the lupine was with him. Silence settled for a while, letting enough time to Wolf to finish eating, before his orange friend told him:

"By the way, the answer to your riddle is: two groups of three and one group of two."

"Not bad. But it was far from impossible, you'll admit. Your turn now."

"That's a hard one. I did figure it out on my own, but it took me some time. I'm sure you'll like it: a heavy carrier is docked on a refuelling station containing four thousands tonnes of helium 3. The crew must reach the nearest planet, which is a thousand astronomical units away, and bring back as much fuel as possible. But, the cargo bay can only contain a thousand tonnes of fuel, and the carrier consumes one tonne per astronomical unit. How much can it bring back?"

"Uh... If it can only contain a thousand tonnes, then it has no choice but to arrive to the planet with an empty tank."

"There's one more detail: the crew can unload a portion of the fuel on the way, and take it back later."

"Hmm... Good, good. I'll tell you the answer next time, right now I'm in no condition to think."

"Giving up is always an option, you know." Fox said sarcastically.

"Are you serious?! I'd rather blow this ship up!"

It was Wolf's turn to stretch, laying back on his chair and putting his feet on the table and his paws behind his head. His graceful motions reminded the vulpine of his feelings, and of his constant inner struggle. Ironical, isn't it? Many praised the bravery of Fox McCloud, some even considered it to be foolishness, yet when it came to the matters of the heart, the orange canine simply melted down.

_Come on, Fox, you'll never know if you never try!_

"Wolf."

"Hmm?"

The vulpine's pulse was racing in his chest.

"I... I-I-I... Erm... _Me appreciate you, a lot. You want do go out with me?_ "

 _You said it! You said it! It's out now_ _, the die is cast._

All the nerves in the vulpine's body were boiling, dolorously awaiting for the answer. His heart was hammering his thoracic cavity like a mad drummer. To the declaration of his orange buddy, Wolf grabbed his chin and focused on what he heard.

_What's taking you so long? Answer!_

The grey canine eventually shrugged and shook his head in resignation.

"I didn't get it. Something with... a road?"

Taken aback by this unexpected outcome, Fox froze. Even though he desperately wanted the lupine to understand, he hadn't the guts to give away the translation.

"Fox? What did you say?"

"Er... Well... Do you... Do you... Er... D-d-do you like... strawberries?"

Wolf frown in confusion.

"Are you sure? Your sentence seemed much longer."

"N-n-no, I'm sure. Do you like strawberries, that was my question."

"Okay... Yes, I... I mean _yes but me judge blueberries more good._ "

"Great! ... Excuse me I need to use the toilet."

All the way to the bathroom, Fox had to wear the weight of another of his pathetic failures. Each of his steps seemed to mock him, only making his embarrassment stronger. All the stress, all the tension, all of this for a damp squib. He was still right where he started, with even less confidence than before. How could he fail at a task that seemed so trivial for common folk? He risked his life countless times in dogfights where the odds were against him, how come could that be too difficult for him? He stared at the grey wall, as if it would give him some advice or speak some ancient wisdom. But the wall kept his secrets, leaving the vulpine alone in his train of thought.

* * *

Fox opened his eyes, only to see the ceiling of his room looking back at him in silence. He turned his head to check the time, and let out a relieved and satisfied sigh realizing a few hours of sleep were still waiting for him. His days weren't exactly physically exhausting, but the mental effort required to learn a new language is enough to empty a man's reserve of energy. He changed his position, wrapped his body in the comfortable blanket, and prepared himself to welcome with gratitude the Sandman again. He felt his mind progressively slowing its pace, his senses shutting themselves down, when... Wait, what was this noise?

His ears rose up, acting like a radar. It came from outside the room. Wolf was on watch, it could have been anything. The noise was more distinct, and didn't seem to announce some immediate danger, but it was still to faint to be identified. However, something inside the vulpine whispered to his ear what it might be. It was just a possibility, a suspicion, but it was enough for curiosity to keep the canine awake. He tried to ignore, but it quickly became obvious that the Sandman wouldn't come as long as the vulpine hadn't gotten answers.

Only wearing a shirt and a boxer short, the orange canine sneaked out of his quarters. As silently as the pads under his feet allowed him to be, he went down the stairs, carefully listening all the while. It seemed the lupine was... sniffing? Was sniffing on regular intervals, and mumbled to himself incomprehensible words from time to time. One step at a time, he made his way to the cockpit, only to see his grey friend seated on the pilot's chair, the head in his paws. Fox then realized that he wasn't sniffing, but sobbing, as confirmed by the slight tremors of his body.

He was disheartened by such a view. Wolf always was fresh and confident, with just a point of arrogance in his attitude. Could all of this be a facade? Was the lupine acting the whole time, using his time on watch to cry in silence?

"Hey, are-"

"AH!"

The grey canine jumped out of his seat, scared by the interpellation of the newcomer. Quickly, he dried his tears with his paw, and pretended nothing happened.

"Go away, I'm fine."

Fox deliberately ignored the order and slowly walked up to him, with calm and serenity. As he approached, the lupine tried to reconstruct his mask. But his smile was painfully fake this time, the illusion couldn't work.

"Tell me what's the matter."

His injunction was soft and full of care, but firm nonetheless.

"It's... nothing. Nothing that concerns you, anyway. Go back to bed."

"Wolf, you're... you're the only friend I have here. If something troubles you, then it concerns me."

The lupine was genuinely touched by this act of caring. It removed the will to keep his artificial grin, but Fox noticed he was still forcing himself to contain his emotions.

"I know, but I tell you, it's not important. It's just..."

All the vulpine had to do was to keep staring the grey canine in the eyes, to make him understand he wouldn't leave the cockpit as long as his friend kept secrets. Eventually giving up, Wolf closed his eyelids, and let a tear roll down his cheek.

"It's just... Oh Fox... It's been so long... I just... I just want to go home..."

Fox came closer and opened his arms, inviting the lupine to take refuge in his embrace. Reluctant at first, Wolf wrapped his arms around the vulpine's torso and snuggled his face on his shoulder, letting more tears flowing from his eyes. In response, Fox gently stroked the back of his head and his neck, whispering comforting words to his ear.

"Shhh... I know, I know... It's alright... I miss home too..."

"I miss it... I miss it so much! ... I can't bear it anymore! ..." he replied between two sobs.

They stayed in each other's arms for a while, before Wolf's sobbing became quieter, and then eventually disappeared. Although they have been together since over a month, Fox felt that it was during this precise moment he learned the most about his grey friend. They kept the embrace, enjoying each other's warmth and trust. This was a new feeling for both of them, and as long as it was pleasant, they might as well make it last. The moment they were sharing was going to stay vivid in their memory until their death. The desperation of the lupin started to rub off on Fox like a contagious disease, as both canines clenched their embrace, looking for comfort.

_I wish I could hug him forever... His fluffy chest against mine, it's so... reassuring, so warm..._

Eventually, Wolf released his grip and gently pushed himself away. His eyes were still wet, but the hug seemed to have removed a weight from his shoulders. Despite his left eye being completely useless when it came to seeing, it was just as expressive as his twin. The bond between the two canines was now stronger than it ever was. He took a deep breath.

"You're... You're a good friend, Fox."

"You would do the same. Come on, let's go to bed. I think we can pause the monitoring for a night."

"No, no... Go ahead, I'll finish my turn."

"Are you sure?"

The lupine dried his eyes with the back of his paw.

"Yeah, sure."

While he slowly gained his seat back, Fox made his way towards the exit. But just as he was about to leave, a question popped in his mind, and he couldn't imagine a better opportunity to ask it.

"Wolf?"

"Hmm?"

"This question might sound weird, but... If somehow, you could bring us back home by erasing our friendship... Would you do it?"

The lupine took some time to prepare his answer.

"Absolutely."

To this response, the ears of the vulpine dropped. Willing to avoid giving the wrong impression, the grey canine clarified.

"Don't get me wrong. I love... whatever there is between us. But forcing you to stay in this galaxy, just so that I can have a friend, that would be selfish. A true friend would sacrifice anything, even his friendship, for the sake of his mate."

"Oh... Of course, when put like that..."

This wasn't the answer Fox hoped, but it felt more fulfilling than his expectation.

"Well, good night, Wolf."

"Good night, Fox."

The vulpine walked back to his quarters, as quietly as he came. His mind was now at peace, and the grey canine just moved up a notch in his book. He truly was full of resources he never expected. How come such a great guy could have expressed so much hate towards him? And was it just Wolf? Or were all the soldiers in the pay of Andross just as good as him? How many Wolf O'Donnell has he killed? ... No, it's better not to think about this. The pilots who died by his hand didn't have any face, didn't have any name. It was cruel, but necessary to sleep at night. However, he has seen the other side now. Could he ever go back killing venomian soldiers like he used to? Would he take the risk to shoot down another Wolf O'Donnell?

As he entered his room, all of those thoughts disappeared, only to be replaced by a sudden and crippling sensation of regret, like if he just missed one of the biggest opportunity of his life, which was kinda true.

_This was the perfect moment! This was the perfect moment to tell him! He was right in front of me, all I needed to do was to lean forward and... I'm pretty sure I saw it in his gaze. I think he would have... Damn it, why can't I ever catch the ball on the bounce?! ... Well, there's no use in rehashing this episode. I'll just try again next time. Next time..._

_Next time, I won't miss the opportunity._


	5. The neutron star

The first screen – the second screen – the paw-written notes – the first screen – the second screen – the paw-written notes – ...

So was the trajectory tirelessly performed by the gaze of Fox, sitting on the pilot's chair. In front of him, the two screens and his notes were vomiting a colossal amount of informations, mathematical formulas, four-dimensional coordinates, and details about this thing called _general relativity_ , which seemed to explain the entire universe on a macro scale, in an excessively complicated way. The theory was relying on postulates that were breaking the neck of common sense (which implied that common sense was breaking the laws of physics in return), and produced the scariest equations the vulpine ever saw. Whoever created this universe, he had the deliberate intent to piss off anyone trying to study his accomplishment.

Unfortunately, math wasn't the orange canine's cup of tea, unlike a certain frog he knew. Noticing the irony of the situation, the memory of an old conversation with his green friend decided it was the perfect moment to pop into the vulpine's mind to taunt him.

_\- I don't see why I should learn mathematics. Never, when I was in my Arwing, I told myself "if only I knew how to solve cubic equations!".  
\- You know, Fox, the world isn't always about fighting. Maths are everywhere in the universe! You never know when it will be useful.  
\- That's why I have a math nerd as a friend! If such a situation arises, then I'll kindly ask for your help. Thus, I still don't need math.  
\- I'm telling you: the day will come when you'll need to know mathematics, and you'll be in shit because you don't!_

He remembered the laugh he threw at Slippy like an old sock. Arrogant and cocky as he was, it never occurred to him that destiny heard his mockery, and waited years to finally humiliate him. Who's laughing now, uh? Certainly not him...

_You were right, Slippy, you were right... Why aren't you here when I need your talents?_

He shot away those thoughts, and drew his attention back to the three displays. _You still have work to do!_ , they seemed to tell him coldly. Unaccustomed to this kind of exercise, creating a mental image summarizing the entire theory presenting itself to his eyes required a new kind of resources and abilities. It took him almost his whole eight hours long shift to finally begin to grasp the complexity and the ramification of the matter, and the reward eventually began to point the tip of its nose. He felt at the top of a mountain, and the fog beneath him was getting dimmer.

The second screen, on the right, was the critical one. On it, the vulpine had to enter the informations required for the desired operation. Error wasn't an option. The consequences went from popping on the wrong place, to the pure and complete annihilation of the spaceship, which would turn his body into a soup of quarks indistinguishable from the fabric of space and time itself. Was he ready? Where his calculations correct? Better safe than sorry. Error wasn't an option. His eyes, again, went through his notes, checking every single step, making sure no sign was inverted, no numerical suddenly disappeared into the realm of easily avoidable mistakes. For each of them, he helped himself with the infos on the first screen, such as the raw theory, and examples of similar computations. Error wasn't an option.

No mistake found...

An unpleasant feeling began to grow in him. The feeling that the moment where he would exclaim _I'm_ _finally_ _done_ _,_ _and I'm_ _sure_ _i_ _t_ _will work!_ will simply never introduce itself. He was doomed, no matter what, to keep an uncomfortable part of uncertainty. The vulpine had no choice but to test, sooner or later, the results he found, without the reassuring confidence he was desperately seeking for. No teacher were at his side to validate his result. And Wolf? Wolf's competence in the domain was even worse than his.

He read, for the final time, the last line on his notes, line that was circled and underlined multiple times. The answer. The definitive and irrevocable answer. His gaze went back and forth between the sheet of paper and the second screen, typing one character at a time, and triple-checking every single one of them. At each character, his heartbeat slightly increased, as a result his blood was flowing at the speed of sound in his veins once he finished copying, obliging Fox to accelerate his breathing, even though he was making almost no physical or intellectual effort. Despite his conscientiousness and his care, he still judged that checking a dozen times that the written and typed responses were identical was necessary.

All of his next movements were slowly, carefully, solemnly performed. Although there was no room for mistake anymore, he still manipulated the screen with extreme caution, as if any bump could cause the input to change. The first screen was shut down, and put aside. His notes were gathered, folded and gained their place back in the vulpine's pocket. Only remained the second screen, displaying all the data given by the pilot, and asking for confirmation. Somehow, that step was the most difficult. Giving the confirmation. Telling the spaceship _Yes, do what I told you, the way I told you_. It was a simple question that was lying at the bottom of the screen, punctuated with an innocent interrogation mark: _Are you sure?_

 _No! I'm not sure!_ _I'_ _ll never be sure! Stop asking me that!_ Fox replied in thought.

 _Are you sure?_ the cockpit asked.

The orange canine approached his trembling paw. This was it. The accomplishment of the countless hours learning basic, then advanced physics, deciphering those formulas, understanding those abstract concepts, was lying a few centimetres ahead of his finger. And yet, the vulpine was terrified by his own creation. His heart was racing in his chest, his teeth were chattering. The tension was palpable, in his attitude, his glare, his breathing. If his calculations were accurate, he'll soon find out. If not... Then these seconds were possibly the last he spent among the living. Suddenly, the trembling stopped, the breathing became normal, as a thought emerged in his mind, a thought one could summarize as: _Fuck it_.

 _Are you sure?_ the cockpit asked.

 _Yes_ , the vulpine answered, by ultimately touching the screen.

Nothing happened during a handful of seconds. Only the nervous drumming of Fox's claws on the seat could be heard in the cockpit, as he was staring outside, stressfully, being clueless as to what he should expect, and frustrated by the immobility of the black sky. Then, the engines woke up, slowly, like a god drawn out of a millenary sleep, progressively unveiling their incommensurable strength and releasing their fury. The soft humming became a roaring, gaining in amplitude, intensity, and frequency at every second. Soon, their wailing had invaded the entire ship, waking the lupine up in the process. The night sky then began trembling. The stars were rapidly and synchronously dancing, their trails scribbling unrecognisable patterns. The vulpine was gripping strongly his seat, unable to stop his members from shaking. If he had made a mistake, it was too late to regret it.

And then... The spacecraft jumped.

The jaws of the orange canine dropped, as he witnessed the prodigious engineering tearing space and time apart with an unexpected ease, as if it was made of paper. Light-years became millimetres, centuries became seconds. The very fabric of the universe was kneeling to him, as the stars were spinning around the ship, while the essence of reality was dancing in submission across the window. Fox couldn't refrain a frenetic laugh, watching this light show that, he knew, would be impossible for him to describe. One cannot describe space and time being subjugated, one can only witness it.

All of a sudden, the universe came back to normalcy and the engines recovered their soft humming, leaving the vulpine alone with his unmeasurable pride and sense of accomplishment, his heart still pounding in his chest. He hastened to open the holographic map, to ensure everything happened according to his plan. He did it. He tamed the laws of physics. He was the master of the universe. From now on, all shall kneel before him. Unable to contain himself, he got up of his chair, and started shouting various exclamations.

"I did it! I'm a freaking genius! Take that, Slippy!" he yelled while throwing his notes in the air.

"What the hell just happened?!"

Wolf just entered the cockpit, still in underwear, completely panicked and disoriented. His confusion only grew stronger when he saw a vivacious and cheerful vulpine performing an improvised victory dance.

"I'm the greatest genius this universe will ever give birth to, that's what happened!"

"... I don't get it."

"Look!" replied the orange canine, pointing at the map. "One minute ago, we were over there, around Beta Cygni. Now, we're here!"

Fox closed the holographic projection of the galaxy. Slowly, the eyes of the lupine opened and his ears rose up as he began to understand the source of his friend's joy.

"You mean we just... jumped? We went beyond light speed?"

"You bet we did!"

The orange canine was about to pursue his dance, when his grey buddy quickly sneaked behind him, slipped his arm around his neck, locked his orange head against his chest and started rubbing it, roughly, with his available closed fist.

"I knew you could do it, champ!"

"Wolf! ... Grrr... Stop it!"

"Cute little foxy!"

The lupine released his prey, after letting him wrestle for a moment, and waited for the celebration to fade down.

"Don't get me wrong, this is great news, but... You really seem over-enthusiastic." he said.

"You would understand if you had spent eight hours straight working on this."

Now that he was calm, Fox took a look around, and proceeded to gather the sheets he threw a moment ago, assisted by the helpful lupine. His mind still couldn't cope entirely with his absolute success. Wolf remained placid, but his inner self was exploding in joy and hope. Uncovering the secret of interstellar travel was a difficult and necessary step in their journey back home, and it was henceforth behind them. Moreover, they were now able to read the umun language with sufficient ease. Which means that only one more key element was missing for they and the Lylat system to be reunited: a new storm. A tough one, but it was the only remaining challenge.

"One step closer to home..." the lupine said pensively.

"I can't believe it worked... I can't believe it actually worked!"

"So, where did you take us?"

Fox quickly searched his notes, seeking for the desired information.

"We're in orbit around... PSR J0737-3039." he answered before putting the sheets back in his pocket.

"And whose phone number is that?"

"Stupid wolf." the vulpine replied, chuckling. "It's a neutron st... hmm."

Noticing that his orange friend had something in mind, Wolf stared at him interrogatively, silently urging him to speak.

"Listen, Wolf... Here's what I suggest: we take a brake today, and we stay in the cockpit. There is something I want both of us to see."

"Which is?"

"I'll explain everything once we'll be settled."

"Damn, it better lives up to the hype! Do you mind making us some drinks while I go fetch something?"

"My pleasure."

When Fox came back in the cockpit with two mugs of tea, he found Wolf spreading a handful of blankets on the two seats.

"If we're gonna stay here a while, we better get comfy!"

They wrapped themselves in the blankets and sank deeply in the seats, the sheets moulding the form of their body under their weight, and hold their warm and steaming beverage. Wolf let his naked upper torso uncovered, leaving his silver fur free to be licked by the gaze of the vulpine. Fox regretted he couldn't spent every day like this, comfortably seated with his grey companion and a warm cup of tea, instead of monitoring channels and taking shifts. He took a deep breath, looking forward to the upcoming intimacy with his crush. Who knows, maybe the perfect opportunity was about to present itself. A comfortable quietness invaded the cockpit.

 _Today's the day. I know it. I feel it_ , Fox thought.

Wolf eventually broke the silence.

"So, what's the thing?"

"Do you know what a neutron star is?"

"If I say a star made of neutrons, do I win a prize?"

Fox chuckled, while the lupine took a big sip.

"It's a bit more specific. Try to imagine... a blue sphere glowing in every possible wavelength, as small as a moon, yet as heavy as an entire solar system, rotating on itself thousands of time per second."

Wolf's gaze was momentarily lost in the void, as he tried to picture an object resembling the given description.

"What's so special about them?"

"It's... It might sound cliché, but... It's my father."

The lupine was about to take another sip, but was abruptly interrupted in his move. After a moment of silence, understanding that Fox was reluctant to continue, he turned his seat and gently grabbed his shoulder. When the green eyes of the vulpine met the grey canine's, his fears dissolved, replace by the comfort of Wolf, whose gaze seemed to say _It's okay, you can tell me_. After all the time they spent together, the lupine was more than trustworthy. Reassured, Fox's face lighted up, and he pursued.

"He used to tell me that he regretted being born too early to explore the galaxy. The Lylat system is fun for a while, but there wasn't that much to see. I remember some stories he read me when I was a child, about space adventurers, sent into the unknown to conquer the stars. That was his big dream, you know. Exploring new worlds. But he knew interstellar travel wouldn't be invented in his lifetime, nor mine for that matter.

"It didn't prevent him from telling me once that if I was lucky enough to leave the Lylat system, the first thing I should take a look at, was a neutron star. Because, he said, they're too small and scattered to be photographed, but everything we know about them indicate they are extraordinary. _Nobody knows what they look like, but I know they_ _are_ _magnificent._ That's his words.

"So I thought... For our first interstellar trip... It would be a good idea if I take the chance of seeing one. That's why I brought us to... PSR... something."

Another long silence settled between the canines. This time, it was Wolf's turn to be flattered by the openness of his orange friend. He raised his mug in the air, and spoke in a slightly theatrical tone.

"Then it is an honour for me to be at your side, Fox McCloud, as we're about to be the first animals of Lylat do see up-close a neutron star!" He approached his beverage to the vulpine, inviting him to bump the mug with his own. "To James."

"To James." Fox replied, before the cups hit each other.

Wolf continued gazing the night sky, while the vulpine manoeuvred the spacecraft towards their object of interest.

"I just realized..." Fox started. "... we almost never spoke about our past."

The ears of the lupine dropped to his friend's remark, and his eye quickly went through the stars, as if they might help him change the subject.

"Erm... Well, I already know yours, more or less. And mine... Isn't that..."

Wolf didn't finish his sentence. One could legitimately characterize Fox as naive, but he wasn't born yesterday. It was obvious to him that they were about to trespass into a territory Wolf always guarded with vigilance. During the silence that followed, none of the canines dared to talk, out of fear of interrupting the other. Seeing the head of Wolf in his paws, the vulpine hoped his tongue would eventually untie itself, but the constant quietness of the grey canine persuaded him the wait would be for nothing.

"It's fine, we don't have to. It's n-"

"My mother sold me to Andross when I was three."

The line hit Fox like a train, taking his breath away. Too stunned to focus on the piloting, he didn't realize the spacecraft was flying in a straight line for dozens of seconds, while the lupine was rubbing his own head, thinking carefully about how to unroll the whole story.

"As far as I remember, I never had parents. I always lived in Andross's training camp on Venom, where he turns young boys into soldiers. The very concept of family was unknown to me. But I wasn't completely stupid either. I knew my biological parents were out there, somewhere, possibly thinking about me. The hope... The hope of seeing them again gave me the strength to survive his treatment. When I felt everything was lost, when I saw nothing but darkness about me, I pictured me, rushing into their arms, and it gave me the will to hold on.

"Eventually, I started working for him. I gathered, over the years, informations about my mother, piece by piece. Andross didn't use to archive informations about his captives, and oh boy, let me tell you I had a hard time. Finding my parents was my only goal. Again, every time I felt in a dead end, I pictured them, welcoming their kidnapped child, and I continued.

"Finally, I found her, somewhere on Macbeth. I... I remember how trembling I was, when I stood in front of the door. I never felt so hopeful, excited. I was ready to embrace whoever would open. She did. I told her who I was, and who she was. And then she... she just shrugged, impassive. She barely remembered me. She told me I never was kidnapped. She needed money, Andross needed soldiers, and they simply made a deal she never really regretted."

He carried his mug to his mouth, hoping the warmth of the beverage would help him cope with the painful memory, and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He was staring at the ground, his ears were low.

"The hope I kept with me... The hope that kept me going in return... was reduced to dust. And... And I became the cynical bastard you're familiar with."

"Don't say that!"

Fox had stretched his arm, to amicably rub Wolf's back, trying to cheer him up.

"You think I would befriend a cynical bastard?"

_You think I would have a crush on a cynical bastard?_

The grey canine was responsive to the consolation, but the look he gave to Fox was loaded with sorrow and fatalism. This was the eye of an animal who went to far into felony and cruelty to pretend he's a good Samaritan. The burden of his past was an omnipresent echo of his seemingly unmovable nature, preventing him from drifting from the path shaped in concrete for him by Andross.

"You should be careful, Fox. I'm your friend because I have no choice... And because you're a great guy, also. But it doesn't change who I am the slightest. We're not cut from the same cloth. That's something I've dealt with long ago, and so should you."

"Nonsense."

The orange paw had raised up to his head, ans was scratching the white mohawk between the silver pointy ears. The eyes of the grey canine closed as he was enjoying the familiar touch that briefly turned his attention away.

"I know that there isn't such thing as a good guy or a bad guy. You think my life is all pink? You think I spent my time sleeping among flowers? I've been through some shit too, you know. I often had to cheat. To kill. I've lost friends. I had to announce their death to their family. But I never lost hope. Even when... Even when James passed away."

Wolf let out a joyless chuckle.

"Your optimism is beyond me."

"You want to know why? When I'm drowning in darkness, I simply focus on the light. Good things happen too, you just have to see them. That's what keeps me going."

"Such as?"

"For example... A fearsome pirate who turns out to be a wonderful friend!"

The ears of the lupine rose up, and sorrow seemed to evaporate from his face, leaving room for a genuine and grateful smile, tainted with a point of grief.

"That's your perspective, and I know it's sincere. But it's not Corneria's."

"It could be. If I can forgive you, why wouldn't they? If you abandon piracy and turn your back on Andross, I'm sure they will see the formidable wolf under this tough skin!"

"Wow, you do know how to flatter men!"

They both continued sipping their tea. Wolf was lost in his thoughts, while his orange friend kept flying them towards the neutron star, waiting for the lupine's answer.

"That's a nice offer... But no. It's too late. Lylat will never be ready for this... I... I will never be ready for this..."

Fox had no comeback. They silently decided to let the subject die, as the spacecraft continued drifting in the cold emptiness of space. Wolf didn't really mean what he said, Fox was certain of that. He saw a part of the lupine nobody ever suspected. He never believed the _deep down_ bullshit. Either someone acted nicely, or he doesn't. But there is no _deep down_. And so far, the grey canine acted as kindly as he possibly could have... The vulpine discarded those reflections. As long as they hadn't successfully gotten back around the sun of Lylat, thinking about the events that would follow was pointless, and only was an unnecessary source of worry. During the following hour, they only exchanged a handful of words from time to time, preferring the reassuring quietness.

"What's that?" Wolf eventually asked, pointing towards the window.

Fox quickly scanned the night sky, and his gaze settled on their objective. A pale blue light, whose luminescence was rapidly oscillating. As they continued approaching, the point gained in thickness and intensity. They were too far away to distinguish details, except for one, spotted by the lupine, whose eye was stuck on the stellar object.

"Wait a minute... There is... two of them?!"

"Surprise!"

Indeed, from their distance, they could see not one, but two little circular stains, orbiting each other multiple times per seconds, each star chasing its partner in an eternal dance. Their light became brighter as the canines shrank the distance separating them from the cosmic duo. Soon, they had to strain the flux of photons by darkening the window, in order to preserve their retina. The duo progressively became wider and wider in the field of view of the pilots, as their ship was swimming in one of the brightest light an animal was ever exposed to. They were slack-jawed when they eventually arrived close enough to witness the show in its entire majesty.

Two moons, perfectly spherical, spinning so fast around their rotation axis that the details on the surface were undistinguishable, impossible to grasp. The stellar duo was emitting the brightest, sharpest and bluest blue this universe can produce, cutting through space like a deadly weapon. Despite their tremendous mass, the pulsars were moving as easily as snowflakes in the wind. The contrast between their prodigious size and their unfathomable speed created a paradox the brain had a great troubles to solve, resulting in an unparalleled sensation of awe, tainted with a hint of incredulity. The surreal phenomenon gave the impression it wasn't part of reality, but was instead the consequence of a bug in a computer simulating this universe.

Still flabbergasted, Fox turned to his friend, but was stunned by the appearance of the lupine. Under the incisive light, his fur was literally glowing in a resplendent mix between silver and blue, as if he was an envoy of the mighty Creator. A new colour. Wolf was radiating a new colour.

"Wolf... Look at your fur! You're beautiful!"

The lupine briefly looked at his arms, before stripping away the blankets to expose his naked upper body to the divine light. Baffled by the reflections on his hairs, he even doubted this was his own fur, or that what he was experiencing was real. He glanced at Fox to share a look of astonishment, but instead told him:

"Well look at yourself!"

The golden fur of the vulpine had also adopted transcendent shades from another realm, and was reflecting these shades everywhere in the cockpit. He imitated his friend and took his shirt off. For a while, both canines were laughing frenetically, astonished by the certainty of finding themselves in another dimension, of experiencing a reality from beyond space and time. When their laughter went extinct, silence reigned in the cockpit, only making their trance more powerful.

"Right there!" the glowing wolf exclaimed, pointing at something outside. "They got the same idea!"

Around the dancing giants, dozens and dozens of spacecrafts, of all shape and size, were spectating the interstellar attraction. An animal eye couldn't see past the tinted window, but one could easily imagine the umuns just as amazed as the canines. Fox remembered the words of his father: _Nobody knows what they look like, but I know they_ _are_ _magnificent_ _._

"Magnificent..." he repeated out loud. "Magnificent..."

Magnificent... If one uses this word to describe the dancing stars, one cannot reasonably use it for anything else. There weren't word, in the lylatian or umun language, to characterize the spectacle. It was simply beyond description.

The eyes of the vulpine went back and forth between the neutron stars and Wolf, and he realized... Of course. The rapture, the light, the silence... Everything was perfect. It was the ideal moment to confess. Another opportunity like this will never present itself, it was now or never. He took his courage with both paws, and a deep breath.

"Wolf... There's something-"

"Wait, what's happening?"

Bliss suddenly escaped from the face of the lupine, to be replaced with concern. Taken aback, Fox glanced outside, and noticed the other spacecrafts were clearing off, one by one, leaving brief flashes of light in their trails as they jumped towards the distant horizon.

"They're just leaving, who cares. Now, ab-"

"I'm not talking about them. Look at the stars."

At first, nothing seemed odd with the behaviour of the pulsars. But after a moment of careful examination, the vulpine perceived an irregularity. The spheres were orbiting a bit faster, and closer to each other. In fact, as time passed, their velocity kept increasing while their distance kept shrinking.

"Could we... Could we get away from here? I have a bad feeling about this..." The voice of the lupine was tainted with apprehension.

"You're sure? I don't see-"

"Please! Just... Get us out of here."

"Where to?"

"Anywhere!"

Fox decided it was best to comply. He began to program a jump of just one light-year away, which would significantly shorten the computation time and facilitate the procedure, especially now that he was familiar with the drill. A minute would be enough to prepare everything. As he grabbed his notes back and began the computations, Wolf, anxious, slowly got up of his seat and took position behind it, as if it would protect him from whatever was about to happen. Fox briefly raised his eyes from the screen, and understood somewhat the source of the worry of his friend. The stars were now orbiting almost as fast as they were spinning, and the distance separating them kept decreasing visibly.

"Fox, now!"

"I'm doing as fast as I can!"

Not knowing exactly why, both canines were panting under the stress. Fox struggled to redo the calculations, while gravitation kept pulling the stars closer and closer, making them rotating faster and faster. The tension was rising. The clock was ticking, until... Until what? Irrelevant. They had to get away from whatever phenomenon was happening. The pulsars were orbiting at such a speed, they simply formed on their trajectory a glowing blue ring, whose size kept diminishing again and again. The clock was ticking. The neutron stars were about to touch. Soon, the ring became a formless disk, as the pulsars began to collapse onto one another. Fox's paw wrote faster, Wolf's lungs breathed louder, the stars became brighter as they merged. The clock was ticking, until...

It disappeared.

Surprise by the sudden absence of light, the canines gave a simultaneous yelp, disturbing the heavy silence that was so far occupying the cockpit, before Fox promptly turned the artificial light back on. He finished the last step and was about to enter the coordinates in the computer, when his heart missed a beat as he watched in horror what the stars had turned into. Instead of the blue spheres was lying a threatening, dark and opaque disk, bending the path of light itself in its surroundings. The mammals had the momentary impression the monster was inflating, before realizing they were actually approaching it at a prodigious speed, as it tried to swallow the imprudent duo in its gluttony. And the worse was yet to come.

As the black hole kept distorting space and time in its inevitable oncoming, a differential in the gravitational field began to form, and to seize the spacecraft and its poor occupants in its grip. The ship itself was rigid enough to withstand it, but the same cannot be said when it comes to living beings. Tingling progressively invaded their members, as gravity tried to push every cell of their body away from each other. Inexorably, the tingling became a tension, the tension became pain, and pain became stronger with each second, as the event horizon approached dangerously the ship.

"Fox!! Hurry!!"

Despite the dolour cutting through his brain cells, Fox managed to complete the input and launch the procedure. By the time the engines began to unleash their fury once again, all of their joints were aching, under the wires of gravity, trying to dissociate every single of their bones. As the gravitational dismemberment inflicted upon the occupants pain on a scale they never experienced yet, the black hole kept approaching, tearing the fabric of reality to shreds on its implacable path. Its grip on the already sore body of the pilots only went stronger as the terminal horizon kept getting closer, behind which the realm of non-existence was waiting for them.

Nothing seemed to be able to stop the embodiment of death and annihilation in its appetite for destruction. Soon, inside the tortured body of the canines, the most fragile and small blood vessels began to inflate and explode under the stretching of space. Blood started leaking from their mouth, their muzzle, their ears, their eyes. Unable to handle the pain, Wolf collapsed on the ground, convulsing and screaming in agony, while the sight of Fox began to decrease as blood inundated his eyeballs. His brain couldn't produce any thought under the attraction of the black hole, whose fateful horizon was about to irrevocably swallow the pilots into oblivion when...

The spacecraft jumped.

Whatever was happening around the ship was invisible to the canines, lying of the floor, suffocating, on the verge of unconsciousness. But one thing was definitely perceptible: gravity had regained a normal behaviour inside the ship. The torture had finally and permanently stopped. Fox tried to talk, but his mouth was unable to utter anything other than a vague croaking. His entire body was sore, and every movement he tried to make caused him to groan in pain. Despite the light illuminating the room, he was plunged in darkness, his eyes unable to discern anything but a dark red fog.

He attempted to reclaim the control of his muscles, in vain. Fire was still raging in his veins, despite the dolour being much more bearable. The blood in his auditory canal prevented him to hear even his own panting. The vulpine made a new attempt in articulating sensible words, again without success. He only coughed the remaining blood out of his throat. Unable to move, see or hear, Fox almost believed he finally reached the other side, but the violent pulsations of his heart kept reminding him of his belonging to the land of the living. He stayed on the floor for what felt like hours, sensing his nerves slowly but surely returning to their normal state.

"W... Wolf..."

It required him a great effort to call, almost inaudibly, the name of the lupine, hearing only the soft humming of the engines as an answer. Overcoming the crippling dolour hat has seized his entire body, he began to crawl, centimetres by centimetres, searching his grey friend. He was still blind, however he could guide himself with his sense of smell. Each step was as hard and painful as the previous one, but the urgency allowed him nonetheless to eventually find the inanimate body of the grey canine. He touched his fur, seized his paw, in the hope of raising a reaction, in vain.

"Wolf... are you... fine... ?"

But the poor lupine was as responsive as a tombstone. Fox let out a sigh of relief when he felt the movements of his chest, testimony of the functional respiratory system. Seeing no other alternative to lying on the floor in the hope of a successful recovery, he maintained his grip on Wolf's paw, and rested his head on his grey arm.

"Please... Please be okay... Please be okay..."

* * *

" _Immobilize ship of yours!_ "

The voice of the lupine was sharp and authoritative. On the other side of the intercom, the unfortunate umun crew had no alternative to obedient compliance. They pretended to themselves to be redoubtable fighters, but a short dogfight with the canines quickly destroyed their illusion. They tried to escape, but their spacecraft couldn't outfly their pursuer. The realization of the inevitability of their defeat was a humiliation they wouldn't forget. Attacked by pirates, in this century... Who knew it would be possible? Since when pirates were still a thing? And why couldn't they speak properly? Silently, the captain of the primates began the sketch of the excuse he would have to give on his return, if he wanted to hide this embarrassing incident.

" _We start docking. You not make strange move, or we make ship explode!_ "

The grey canine's heart was filled with a warm sense of familiarity. Attacking weaker ships in outer space and stealing their possessions... That's what he was born for! Getting back into piracy made him feel alive again. He always knew his talent would consistently be useful, he simply never realized the extent. In a galaxy at peace for centuries, it was ridiculously easy for him to immediately secure his position as fearsome bandit. Despite their impressive technology, the locals didn't seem to be good fighter. At Wolf's side, the vulpine wasn't as cheerful and radiant as his friend.

"For the record, I hate what we just did."

"Oh, come on!" the lupine replied. "Admit it, it was super fun!"

"No! Attacking and stealing, that's... not how I work."

"... That is so cute!"

A proud and cocky smile appeared on the face of the grey canine, satisfied with his misdeed. The vulpine never suspected he would sink so low. To Fox, it was a dishonourable act he had once sworn never to commit, but to Wolf, it was just a Thursday.

"And what would you have done?" the lupine asked. "We'll soon run out of supplies, and we can't just buy it somewhere. You're seeing any alternative?"

"I know we have no choice! All I'm saying is that I hate it."

"I don't see why you're having regrets. After what those bastards did to us, I mean..."

"It's not about that!"

To evacuate his anger, Fox had gotten up and started pacing around in the cockpit, under the amused eye of Wolf. Bringing the golden boy of Corneria to break the law was, without any doubt, the greatest of his accomplishments.

"I don't steal! I don't attack innocent people! I spent my life fighting pirates, I'm not supposed to join them. It's just not who I am, end of story!"

"Of course, we could have abode by the rules... And die of hunger."

"Wolf, I told you, you already won! I'm not trying to argue, so just let me shout like a dick and I'll calm down!"

"Well, if it can help: playing pirates with you was way more fun than I thought. You're welcome in Star Wolf anytime you want!"

"Shut up!"

Wolf burst into laughter at the anger and remorse of the vulpine, a laughter Fox was unable to share. He was about to respond when he suddenly felt the floor collapsing underneath, as a violent pain emerged in his head, forcing him to sit. A remanent of their encounter with the black hole. Seeing his buddy stagger and hold his head, the lupine regained his composure and rushed towards the vulpine.

"Hey hey, are you alright?"

The sight of Fox stayed blurry for a while, as he tried to put up with the pain that maintained a wince on his face.

"I'm... I'm fine... It will pass..."

Wolf kneeled down, and grabbed the vulpine's chin to inspect his eyes, while gently stroking his head with his available paw. Under the touch of the grey canine, Fox unwound, his breathing slowed down and the pain diminished.

"You're not fully recovered yet. Your eyes are still bloodshot."

"But they work." Fox replied. "That's all that matters."

They stayed silent while the dolour was fading away.

"I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have brought us to the neutron stars..."

"Don't be. You didn't know. It's not your fault."

"I..."

The tone of Wolf was calm and reassuring. His grey paw moved from the top of Fox's head to his cheeks, and the vulpine closed his eyes and snuggled his head against the lupine's pads as a response. Eventually, the vulpine rose up to his friend's level and the canines took each other in their arms, resting their head their friend's shoulder.

"I... I was so afraid you'd die..." Fox admitted.

"I'll be fine. We'll both be fine. It takes more than... whatever that was, to defeat us. You, of all people, should know that."

"Yeah, but.. You were barely breathing... And you didn't-"

"Shhh, I know, but it's over now. Just forget it."

Their moment of intimacy was interrupted by a thud echoing through the metallic structure of their spacecraft, to which the lupine broke their hug.

"We're docked now. Just stay here. I'll deal with this myself."

"Are you sure? You won't need help?"

"Positively. You need to rest for now. It would be too dangerous for you if the powder flares up."

"Remember: we don't take their entire stock. We leave some of it so they can go home, that was my condition!"

Wolf rolled his eyes, and made his way to the docked ship.

"I know, I know... Sometimes, I wonder why you like them." he said while exiting the cockpit.

"I don't like them. But I like killing people even less. That's all."

The next instant, Fox was alone with his thoughts. He sat on the pilot's seat and gazed at the night sky, trying to reflect about what just happened and to put order in his mind. Is that really what he had become? A fugitive in a foreign galaxy, looting innocent people in order to survive? What happened to the favourite son of Corneria? What would his teammates think? What would Peppy think? What would James think? There was only one animal whose absence of judgement was a certainty to Fox, and it was Wolf. The vulpine clearly figured that robbing was his daily routine, that it was for him the main reason to wander between planets. He felt disappointed with himself when he realized that, of the two canines, the grey one was the more apt to survive in this hostile environment.

But it shouldn't be this way... Following the rules should always lead to the best outcome. It had to! What was the point of rules otherwise? Or... Or maybe was Wolf right. Maybe blindly following the law was pure naivety. Could have he been that naive this whole time? Doing things "the right way" brought him a superficial and relative fame and his name to be pronounced in a handful of speeches, but it couldn't be just that... Or was it? After all, all those lessons about honour and respect of the law, what did he learn from that? Where they just mirages built to keep him within the guidelines of the government? Maybe, had he been a pirate like the lupine, he could have come out of a handful of difficult situations way easily...

No, no no no. Not now, not ever. This thinking was not his, but Wolf's rubbing off on him. It didn't matter how convenient a bandit's life could be. Is it naive to say _looting is bad_? Possibly, it is still bad nonetheless. Fox always acted according to his principles, he certainly wasn't going to throw them in the garbage can because of his current misadventure with the lupine. Yes, exceptional situations require exceptional measures, that doesn't make him a thief. Could anyone blame him for wanting to survive? Wolf said it himself: they had no choice.

Speaking of which... Where was he? At least half an hour had passed since he left.

"Wolf? Are you there?" Fox said through the intercom.

No response.

" _Can anybody hear me?_ "

No response. Something wasn't right...

Eventually deciding to check himself, Fox walked towards the docked ship. He couldn't stop a crowd of worrisome thoughts from scrambling in his mind. He hoped that Wolf hadn't made anything stupid, or dangerous. He almost lost him once, he refused to let it happen a second time. During his ruminative thinking, the vulpine unconsciously fastened his pace, so that he arrived running and panting inside the umun spacecraft. He would gladly have inspected it if he wasn't so preoccupied with his grey friend, whom he found in a hallway next to the entrance, pushing a big wooden crate. Not expecting to see the vulpine, Wolf made a sudden jump back, trying as hard as he could to appear casual.

"Hey! Could you give me a paw?"

"What took you so long?"

"N... Nothing. Come on, let's go."

But Fox stood still, listening carefully with both ears, to the exasperation of the grey canine.

"Fox, what are-"

"Hush!"

Worry began to grow inside the vulpine's stomach. The quietness inside the spacecraft was deafening, as if it was abandoned for years. He maintained the silence, hoping to catch any noise that would invalidate his worst suspicion, in vain.

"Where is the crew?" he asked.

They maintained eye contact during the silence that followed, both of them trying to hide their emotions. Futilely, since Wolf couldn't bring himself to utter such a blatant lie to his friend.

"Wolf... What have you done to them?"

The eyes of the lupine went down, as his ears folded back in shame. His mouth stayed shut, but his silence was worth a thousand words, confirming Fox's worst fear, who lost his temper.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me..."

"Listen Fox, I can explain-"

"What?! What do you want to explain?! We agreed, Wolf! We agreed to let them live!"

"They... They attacked me."

"Oh, did they?! Look at me, Wolf! Did they?!"

The lupine's glare was the one of a child denying he took the last cookie. A cookie that slaughtered an entire crew. Needless to say that the vulpine didn't buy the excuse for a second.

"I can't believe it... I can't believe you did it..."

"Why do you care anyway? You didn't know them! They'd have killed you if they had the chance!"

"They surrendered!"

"But they're still the enemy! I kill my enemies, McCloud, I don't offer them flowers. I told you we aren't cut from the same cloth!"

McCloud... It was the first time, since they stole their ship, he used this name. Their voices kept getting louder as the air started to heat up.

"They did nothing to us, Wolf! They were innocent, we're the one who attacked them!"

"They're not innocent. None of them are. Not after what they inflicted me!"

"... Really? You're going to hunt every umun we meet because of how two of them treated you?"

"I'm not talking about hunting them. I'm talking about hanging every single one of those bastards with the guts of their own child!"

The ears of Fox folded back as he stepped away, unable to recognize the lupine he considered as his friend.

"And you pretended not to be an immoral monster..."

The remark, pronounced with contempt, was uttered quietly, but not enough to slip between the grey ears unnoticed. The face of Wolf contracted into a hideous scowl, revealing two rows of teeth, as he stood menacingly right in front of Fox, dominating him from his threatening size, his paws clenched into fists. In reaction, the vulpine's ears flattened as he drew back his lips, his throat emanating a discrete growl.

"Say that again, loud and slow."

"You just killed innocent animals who surrendered. How am I supposed to call you? Happy Puppy?"

A grey fist flew right into the orange muzzle. Without reasoning, without thinking, Fox's reflexes made him jump on the lupine, baring teeth and claws, driven only by a primal rage. Ears were bitten, skin was clawed, orange and grey hairs were grabbed and torn off. One could hear the grunt of anger and the swearing of the savage canines everywhere in the so far silent spacecraft, both of them trying to immobilize, strangle, or simply hit wherever they could. There was no more room for rational thinking, and the pilots, powered by adrenaline, held back none of their punches, releasing all the energy and wrath they accumulated during their weeks in isolation. They quickly forgot up to their own name to turn into wild animals, fighting for their lives, trying to inflict as much pain as they could.

It was at this moment that another poor timed ill-feeling stroke Fox again, hurting his head and blurring his vision. Instead of seizing this opportunity to stop the nonsensical combat, Wolf took advantage of the vulpine's condition and threw him on the floor, locked him with his knees, and armed his fist. Seeing the lupine on his chest, his face distorted by hate and fury and his grey paw in the air ready to attack, Fox instinctively protected his head with his arms to amortise the shock, but the punch was as violent and implacable as a rockfall, rendering his sense of sight and hearing temporarily inoperative. The sudden and intense hit instantaneously sent him on a thin line between awareness and unconsciousness. Wolf had rearmed his fist and was about to strike again when...

A glance at his own grey paw revealed a few drops of blood. Maybe it wasn't Fox's. Maybe it wasn't even blood at all. But it was enough to snap him back out of his state of absolute rage, and to allow reason to invite itself in his mind. He looked down and saw, instead of the enraged mortal enemy he was fighting, a poor vulpine struggling to breath under his weight, incapable of hurting a fly, with the mark of his paw dolorously printed on his cheek. His stomach twitched in knots of guilt as he stood up, turned his head away and shoved it in his paws, too ashamed by his behaviour to let his gaze settle on the orange canine once more. A heavy silence settled, during which Fox stayed lying on the ground, breathing loudly, waiting for his senses to come back to normal.

"No... No... What have I..." Sorrow was perceptible in the shaky and quiet voice of Wolf.

The vulpine rolled on his side, groaning in pain. The lupine approached him to offer his help, only to meet an orange paw coldly gesturing in dismissal.

"Back off." The tone of Fox was feeble, but determined.

"Please, just let me-"

"Back. Off."

Slowly, the vulpine rose up, the dolour painting a wince on his face as he laboriously and painfully stood on his feet, helping himself with the wall all the while. He briefly examined his muzzle with his paw, trying to evaluate the damage, before looking straight in the lupine's unique eye.

"Fox... I... I lost my shit... I'm sorry..."

"I'm taking their ship."

"... What?"

"You keep our ship, I'm taking theirs."

"But... You mean..."

"You know exactly what I mean."

Wolf's heart skipped a beat as his face decomposed. His panicked gaze swept in every direction, as if he was trying to catch somewhere in the air an acceptable excuse for an unacceptable act.

"Fox... Listen, it's just-"

"Whatever your justification is, it means little to me."

"Please! Just hear me out, and... and I'll leave, never to come back. But please listen to me first... I...

"I... You must realize that I spent at least twice as much time with them than I did with you, Fox. I know it's in the past, but I... I can't pretend it didn't happen! Sometimes I see them in my dreams, and I wake up covered in sweat. Sometimes I hear them right behind me when it's just an ordinary noise. Sometimes I feel their hands on me when it's just the weight of my own clothes! They still scare the shit out of me! I can't just forget it, I simply can't!"

"Is that an excuse?"

"No... No, it isn't." he replied as he looked down. "But... I know they did nothing to me. I... I didn't want to kill them, Fox, I swear. That's not what I had in mind.

"But when I saw their face... It... The memories... The pain... Everything... It came back, you know. I knew they weren't my torturers, but... It is still them that I saw, standing where we are. It was like if I felt into their arms again. I tried to contain myself. I tried to remember they were innocent. I tried! But... It was too strong, I couldn't resist... I couldn't help it. I lost my temper, and when I realized it, it was too late...

"I'm not proud of what I've done, Fox. Trust me, if I could change it I would. I got carried out. You would understand if you were the one they captured! You may have done the same, and I wouldn't have judged you...

"I don't ask you to forgive, nor to forget... Just to understand. That's all."

Fox would lie if he pretended not to be disheartened. The lupine who just spoke to him had nothing to do with the one he fight with. It's a shame that it took bites and punches to make him return to normal. Of all what he said, one key element kept echoing in the vulpine's mind: it could have been him. He could have be the one being tortured for months. Would he have kept his entire sanity intact? Or would he have escaped with an irrepressible urge to behead every umun in existence? Could he decently blame Wolf for hating and fearing them? Wouldn't it be unfair and hypocrite to ask the lupine to behave properly when it was so easy for Fox to do so?

And most importantly: would it be right to abandon the lupine, despite all what he went through? No, definitely not. He needed help, obviously, and so did the vulpine. Beside, if Wolf was on his own, even more innocent animals might die as they would cross his path.

"Wolf... From now on, there will ba a simple rule: no more unnecessary killings."

The ears of the lupine instantaneously rose up.

"What?! So..."

"I said: no more unnecessary killings. If it isn't a threat, we let it live. And I'll be absolutely intransigent on this one."

"But... you stay?"

"Promise me this first."

"Yes! I won't hurt anybody if I don't have to, you have my word! So you stay?"

Fox took a deep breath, and grabbed the front of the wooden crate, which had silently watched the scene the whole time.

"Come on, let's bring this inside and run off."


	6. A way out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far I managed to keep a steady rythm, I hope it will continue.  
> A big thanks for the comments, they are truly encouraging!  
> And a big thanks also to the 10 guests browsing in incognito mode who keep leaving kudos on every chapter! XD

For some animals, there is a particular image, noise or smell capable of instantaneously plunge him or her into a state of bliss and intense relaxation. It can be the voice of a loved one, a landscape related to a childhood memory, the scent of a specific dish, etcetera. Inside the cockpit of the canine's spacecraft, where Fox was comfortably sitting, the soft purring of the engines was this time accompanied by another sound, a sound that felt like sweet honey in the orange ears, a sound he never thought he would miss, a sound he had learned to love and cherish: the sound of air flowing around the ship.

A few hundreds kilometres below him, forests, hills, oceans were scrolling like a treadmill, mostly covered by a thick shadow, as the sun was about to rise on these lands and to bless them of its warm gaze. Since the vulpine was situated above the terminator (i.e. the line on the ground marking the separation between day and night), his viewpoint allowed him to directly look at the yellow star, its beams struggling to traverse the jagged mountain range, as it was beginning to point the tip of its nose just above the surface of the planet he was approaching. Fox continued his descent, flying towards the sunrise, crossing sparse white clouds here and there on his way. From time to time, a stretch of water (sometimes a lake, sometimes the ocean, sometimes a river) reflected briefly the sun, like blinking ampoules scattered on the surface.

When the angle between the horizon and the sun was wide enough, the beams invaded the cockpit, wrapping the cold grey room with a warm yellow blanket. These walls hadn't been caressed by the sunlight for aeons. As the atmosphere went denser along the descent, Fox could almost sense the wind wiggling his fur, the sun warming his face, the scent of vegetation tickling his nose, even though the impermeability of the spacecraft prevented those stimuli from reaching him. Now that he was deeper in the morning and closer from the ground, he had a better view of the underlying landscape. Underneath, the planet's crust was thoroughly laboured by centuries of plate tectonics and erosion, shaping green high plateaus that ended in ochreous cliffs overlooking a deep and spectacularly large river. That would make a good landing site. The anticipation of the moment he would eventually open the hatch and feel the fresh air caused the orange canine's heartbeat to scale up.

No pilots can decently handle living for months confined in a spacecraft, and those who do are liars. The extended isolation and exiguity inevitably causes damage to the mind, and numerous were the reported cases of crewmembers who ended up debating metaphysics with their own tail. There are even rumours about an entire team who supposedly ate each other after a twenty months long mission (even though the cornerian government always strongly refuted the occurrence of such incident). The point is: landing on a planet and getting out of the ship on a regular basis was necessary in order to keep the crew's sanity intact. For Fox, his recent fight with Wolf was a sign that a stopover was required.

When it came to choosing a planet for the canines to stretch their legs on, the vulpine was spoilt for choices. They were thousands of uncolonised habitable worlds catalogued in the map they had at their disposal, he merely and arbitrarily settled himself for Ceneri, a body with a temperate climate similar to Corneria's, and whose fauna represented no significant danger. He already met wild wolves one time, and it was one too many. According to their data, the biggest animals on this planet were owls, and its climate made it an excellent candidate for a future colonization, colonization systematically delayed, for Ceneri was too distant from the nearest inhabited world. The vulpine certainly wouldn't mind the absence of primate.

As he kept approaching the ground, more and more details became visible. Fox could see the grass quivering under the hot exhaust of the engines, as the spacecraft was gently hovering above the chosen landing site. Metre by metre, he pursued his descent, while deploying the landing gear. The computer was capable of manoeuvring the ship on its own, but the pilot felt the desperate need to perform the landing himself. Not for the sake of safety, but solely for the enjoyment of feeling the soft touchdown, as the metal and the dirt finally met each other. The engines were cut, and the orange ears folded back, surprised by the sudden absence of their soft humming that never left the spaceship so far. Their purring was replaced by the faint whisper of the wind, and the distant sound of waves crashing on the immutable dominating cliff.

After having enjoyed the relative silence, Fox deployed the access ramp, placed himself in front of the hatch, and opened. Immediately, a torrent of scents, carried by the air flow, filled the entire airlock, relentlessly attacking the sensitive olfactory receptors of the vulpine. Now that he was accustomed to the immaculate air perpetually recycled by the ventilation system of the ship, any odour coming from a tree, a flower, or anything natural, was bitter, sharp, aggressive, almost painful. The inherent odour of Ceneri seized Fox without respite, making him wince and draw back his lips as he almost choked on the sudden and unexpected crowd of scents.

It smelled like hell... And damn, it felt so good... Finally, smelling something else than this cold, impersonal, faceless spacecraft. Finally, sensing something that wasn't artificial. Finally, feeling the universe acknowledging his need for contact with nature. I might hurt a bit, but it was infinitely better than smelling nothing at all. He felt alive, empowered, as if the planet was deflowering his nose.

The orange canine went down the ramp and stepped out of the ship's shadow, the immense delight of the grass caressing his feet making him close his eyes in bliss. The gravity on the surface was slightly less than the one artificially generated by the spacecraft, therefore his steps were surprisingly light and easy, as if one jump would be enough to send him into orbit. Because of that and the soft dirt massaging his delicate pads, Fox felt he wasn't walking, but floating like angel above a sea of clouds. It is unfathomable how good nature feel when one has just spent three months locked inside a tin can. Without realizing it, he spent dozens of minutes, as motionless as a marble statue, under the sunbeams, enjoying his orange fur shivering under the smooth breeze, quietly whistling to his ears, the sun gently warming his face as he was facing its rise.

He opened his eyes, to be awestruck by the surrounding landscape. Ahead of him, a crystal clear blue blanket stretched from the bottom of the cliff he landed on, a few hundreds metres below, and up to as far his eyes could see, licking the horizon from which the sun was awakening. Had it not been for a distant mountain chain, proudly standing towards the sky, disturbing the otherwise flat horizon of their jagged peaks, the vulpine would have sworn it wasn't a river, but an unbridgeable ocean lying at his feet. The wind, sweeping above the waves and rushing towards the top of the cliff, brought with it the chaos of the waves fighting one another, along with a myriad of scents Fox started to enjoy, but failed to identify.

Behind him, he noticed that Mother Nature was just as good at designing the land as designing the sea. Their viewpoint overlooked a relatively sparse forest, covering a vast population of hills of various size, some covered by a dark network of trees, and some naked, exposing their grass to the sun, hiding underneath, Fox guessed, a whole ecosystem of invertebrates of all types. The green masses were occasionally punctuated with a small lake, or a chasm plunging into deep mysteries no animal ever witnessed. Although the wind was blowing in the wrong direction, the vulpine had a vague idea of the plants and the trees hiding in the vegetal mass. He might be a born pilot, he was still a land animal first and foremost. A place not located on the surface of a habitable planet isn't a place he could call home. He rejoiced himself over the little paradise he found for they to spent some vacation time, but feared the moment they would have to leave. Ceneri... Had he been a singer or a poet, he could have composed or written a masterpiece about this planet.

But wasn't it a bit too early to be pleased? Last time he felt something similar, a black hole tried to swallow them... Nah, let's not be paranoid. Although he didn't see what could go wrong this time, he prayed destiny to spare the canines and to allow them to spend some tranquil time together. He lied on the soft grass, closed his eyes once again, and let the sweet warmth of the sun and the soothing distant sound of the waves transport him into the arms of Morpheus, until the coming of his grey friend.

* * *

Wolf was slowly drawn out of his sleep, as the sunlight knocked on his eyelids. Great, morning is here already... He rolled on his bed for his gaze to settle on the clock, and saw that his shift was about to begin. Another t... Wait a minute... Morning is here? _Morning_?!

He abruptly rose up, astonished by the resplendence of the walls as they were hit by the sunbeams. For a brief moment, he could have believed he wasn't in his quarters anymore. Outside, instead of the dark and cold emptiness of space, lied a blue sky above a terrestrial landscape. Did Fox make them land? What a question, of course he did.

The grey canine put on his clothes, and made his way outside of the spacecraft. Just as the vulpine before him, he was highly displeased by the avalanche of new scents rushing in his nose, but he admitted the view and the sound of nature was immensely soothing and restful. It has been so long since he hadn't felt the wind on his fur, the sun warming his body, or smelt faint traces of pollen in the air. But the best was definitely treading on something else than cold metal. If only he could plant grass everywhere in the ship, never to set his feet on this uncomfortable grey floor again...

He found Fox a few metres away, peacefully sleeping on the grass. Poor guy, he must have been exhausted by the recent events. The lupine kneeled closed to him, and felt his heart sink at the sight of the faint mark of his paw still visible on his cheek. It was the first time, also, that he could observe the vulpine up-close. Surely he knew that watching people in their sleep was impolite at best, creepy at worst, but he couldn't help to be intrigued by the aspect of the orange fur under the sunlight, giving it a new kind of freshness and brilliance. Damn, he was a beautiful fox... Well, he would have been if his tongue wasn't escaping from his ajar maw to rest listlessly on the ground while he was sleeping. But somehow, that gave him a cute side. He looked so peaceful, so... fragile, so vulnerable... Wolf wondered how many animals ever saw Fox like this.

None of the canines spotted the two adventurous ants which, intrigued by the humidity emanating from the vulpine's buccal cavity, decided to inspect it themselves, and to use the pink tongue to access the forbidden cave. Unfortunately for them, the tickling caused by their steps woke the orange canine up, who hastened to spit out whatever he had in his mouth. Once the confusion evaporated, he noticed the presence of the grey canine sitting at his side, staring at the horizon. The lupine's ears quickly reacted, hearing Fox suddenly rejoining the rank of the awakened. They acknowledged each other's presence with a nod and a welcoming and friendly grin, before the vulpine pointed at the rising sun.

"This time, I can _legitimately_ say: good morning!"

Wolf chuckled, as he was enjoying the breeze flowing around his body and messing with his grey fur.

"Good morning to you, Foxy... Damn, I've missed this."

"Missed what?"

The lupine gestured at their surroundings, his face illuminated with a cheerful smile and radiant eyes.

"All of this! The grass, the sky, the wind... Shit, it feels so good!"

"I know, right?" Fox replied, before lying on the ground again. "And I can't imagine what it's like for you, since you spent so much time locked up..."

Wolf took a deep breath, as if he was trying to inflate his lungs with all the fresh and energizing air of Ceneri, before letting himself nonchalantly collapse on the grass. How could he have spent so much time away from Mother Nature? Why would he leave? For a moment, all his heart was filled with was a deep desire to stay here, on the dirt, letting the sun caress his hairs, until the end of time. But it didn't take long for reason to remind him that this was only a temporary stop, sadly. He turned his head to Fox.

"What are we doing here?"

"A break! A well-deserved break!" the vulpine responded, before letting out a moan of relaxation as he stretched. "I figured out we both needed it after..."

Once again, he talked to fast. The altercation was an incident he constantly tried to brush away, and even though he didn't finish his sentence, it was obvious to Wolf what he was referring to. Shame and remorse seized his mind, perturbing his state of bliss and peacefulness.

"I shouldn't have..." His voice was low, full of regret. "I'm sorry, that was so low of me..."

"It's alright. We were both on edge, and we both lost our temper. It's not your fault."

"Stop doing that."

The orange head rose up, frowning in confusion at Wolf.

"Doing what?"

"Apologizing. Taking the blame. I don't care if it's what the academy told you to do to be a good leader, you should stop." He rolled on his side, and plunged his eye into the green ones. "I'm not the one with a paw printed on my muzzle..."

"Oh..." Fox briefly touched the area around his snout. "It's still there?"

Wolf left the question without answer, and rolled on his back. Fox let his mind wander, trying to put as much distance as possible from their fight, but the lupine had troubles coping with his action.

"I really feel like a piece of shit..."

"Please don't be. Let's just forget this, okay. If it can make you feel better, it doesn't change at all how I see you. I still lo... like you, you know! You're still my friend!"

 _He's so prone to forgiving, it might be the death of him,_ Wolf thought. _But I muss admit... That's really sweet, I don't deserve any of this..._

They stayed on the grass for dozens of minutes, enjoying the mutual silence, letting the rustling of the waves and the whisper of the wind relaxing every single of their nerves and muscles. The three eyes were sweeping the blue sky, as the canines caught themselves imagining shapes among the clouds, like children resting on their grandparent's garden on a hot summer. The same thought returned to the attack: did they really had to leave? Couldn't they just stay here forever? Of course they couldn't, but still... What a shame it was...

"So..." Wolf began, feeling that boredom was about to enter the room. "... what's the plan?"

Fox pondered a while, before responding.

"Feel ready for a walk?"

"Hmm... Where to?"

The orange canine abruptly stood up, and started rubbing his feet against the ground, as to prepare them for a marathon.

"We can walk along the edge of the cliff, or into the forest, or anywhere. I just need to walk, to move! To do anything else than going in circle inside this tin can."

"Well, in this case..." Wolf slowly got back on his feet. "... if you want to move so much, why don't we try to see who moves the fastest?"

Some buttons were too easy to push. The glare Fox threw back at the lupine was daring and vivid of competitiveness, accompanied with a cocky grin from ears to ears. None of them were the kind of person to refuse such a challenge.

"However before you accept, I must warn you, we wolves are particularly good runners."

"Ooooh, I know, I experienced it myself!"

A smirk appeared on the lupine's face.

"I'll never know the full story, will I?" he said.

"All you need to know is that I outran them, just like I'll outrun the shit out of you!"

"The only thing you'll outrun is your self-esteem, as it will be crawling on the ground after a humiliating defeat!"

A remanent of their rivalry obviously refused to die. Both canines were snarling, grinning and showing their fangs, in a playful and challenging way, with the fire of competition raging in their eyes, as their tails swung back and forth in anticipation. Wolf walked up to Fox's side, and pointed at an isolated birch, a few hundreds metres away from them.

"See that tree?"

Fox nodded.

"Here's how we'll do it." Wolf continued. "I'll throw a rock in the air, and as soo..."

The mischievous vulpine didn't wait for his friend to finish clarifying the modality of the race, and immediately kick-started, each of his steps desperate to give him as much momentum as possible towards the targeted tree. Less than a second after his precipitated departure, the lupine set off in pursuit, shouting various exclamations during his sprint, exclamations that went from "That's not fair!" to "Get back here you little shit!". Meanwhile, Fox's pads kept hammering relentlessly the dirt, as he tried to focus solely on the finish line and to ignore the furious wolf chasing him. He couldn't help but to burst into laughter at the cry of rage and the curses uttered by the other runner, which made the race slightly more difficult for him.

Fox tried to convince himself he was being hunted by the wolf pack again, in order to release back the adrenaline that saved his life. Unfortunately, his awareness of the triviality of the situation prevented his brain from opening the valves. Instead, he kept laughing louder, as he heard the steps behind him getting closer, slowly but surely. Indeed, wolves were good runners. Even though the distance between the two canines continued shrinking, so did the distance between Fox and the finish line, and Wolf was uncertain as whether he could overtake the vulpine in time or not. Then, he got an idea.

_You wanna play dirty, Foxy? Then so be it!_

The lupine stretched all of his muscles and pounced all the way forwards, extending his arms as far as he could, for his paws to grab Fox's waist and to bring the rest of his body along in his fall. The two canines rolled on the ground, carried by their accumulated momentum, before they started playfully battling on the dirt, fiercely baring teeth and grunting at one another. Anybody watching the scene would think they were puppies fighting on a playground. Both of them were trying to free himself and reach the tree, standing a few meters away, while maintaining the other on the grass.

Eventually, Wolf ended up pinning Fox on the ground, on his back, locking his arms above his head and lying his heavy body on top of his, so that he couldn't escape. The vulpine tried to fight back, to remove himself from the Wolf's restrain, but he was quickly forced to admit his defeat to the childish game of domination, as indicated by his lips covering his teeth back and his ears folding. Savouring his victory, the grey canine presented Fox a cocky smirk, while managing to speak as he panted heavily.

"I... won! ..."

Exhausted, both canines were huffing and puffing loudly, their tongue dangling outside of their maws. Wolf was about to get up and liberate the orange canine when... They locked eye contact, and for some unknown reason, none of them could set his gaze away, as if some kind of magnet had permanently grouted them. Wolf was so close from Fox's body, he felt transported by his scent, hypnotised by the beautiful emerald eyes just in front of his muzzle. A strange atmosphere began to form, a strange smell began to rise, like if time was progressively slowing down.

"Fox... I..."

As they kept looking at each other, lost in their mate's eyes, their panting went calmer, but their hearts kept beating furiously. The lupine felt the unexplainable need to... to lean closer... closer from the orange muzzle... No, such behaviour was forbidden, unless... He unconsciously tried to catch, on the face of the vulpine, any sign he could interpret as an authorization, as an indication of consent... Consent of what? What did he want? Himself couldn't tell.

"Wolf, I can't move..."

_No! Why did I say that?!_

Snapped back into reality, the lupine removed himself and helped Fox stand back on his feet. The romantic atmosphere instantaneously evaporated, and both canines took some time to fully calm down, and to remove the bit of dirt and grass captured by their fur. Wolf was determined not to let his victory die out so rapidly.

"I told ya!"

"Indeed... I guess you're always quick, aren't you?"

"As I said, we wo... Wait a minute, what was that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I wouldn't _dare_ to make any hidden innuendo!" Fox scoffed with a falsely innocent look.

As a response, Wolf simply chuckled and shook his head. None of them were in the mood for another chase or another fight.

"Still up for a stroll?" the grey canine asked.

"Yup!"

"Lead the way then. Your idea, you're the guide." he said while waving his paw, indicating he was ridding himself of any responsibility.

Fox took a look around and scented the air, before pointing at the forest.

"This way. It smells good over there."

They had barely started to walk, when the lupine suddenly stopped.

"Wait Fox, we're forgetting something!"

The vulpine briefly cogitated, before giving up and asking the lupine for more details. Wolf pointed at their spacecraft.

"We've locked it?"

The orange canine rolled his eyes so far, he was about to see the inside of his skull.

"It'd be a shame if it get stolen."

"Wolf..."

"I heard there are thieves in the area."

"Wolf..."

"And we don't have any insurance."

"Wolf, I got the joke the first time!"

"Just one more!"

Fox sighed, and gestured in approval.

"Do you think we're allowed to park here? Okay I'm done, we can go."

* * *

The sun was well advanced on his celestial track, and was about to take a final bow before disappearing beyond the horizon to illuminate some distant unexplored country. The warm air of a summer evening wrapped both the sea and the land, and the birds gave up their seat for the crickets to perform their singing. Progressively and inevitably, dusk was once again winning his fight against the day, painting the so far blue sky with an enchanting purple, which was soon to be replaced by complete darkness. Being devoid of artificial activities, there were no lights on Ceneri to disturb the tranquillity of the coming night.

Among the ever-elongating shadows of sparse trees, two canines were resting on their back, watching the shades of the sky metamorphosing, as the brightest stars began to peek at the animals. No words were needed between them, for they preferred to keep their trivial remarks for some other time, where they wouldn't have the opportunity to enjoy the peaceful quietness. The silence of nature felt different than the silence inside a spaceship, it was infinitely more authentic, comfortable, soothing.

"Seriously, Wolf: why?"

Fox didn't move his head as he asked the question, and neither did Wolf as he replied.

"Why what?"

"Attacking, stealing, ... the pirate's life. Why?"

"Six words: I. Do. The. Fuck. I. Want."

"So do I."

"Oh, really?" the lupine answered with scepticism, as he turned his head to the orange canine. "Can you keep all the money you make without paying taxes?"

"No, but-"

"Can you consume whatever drug you want?"

"Why would I-"

"Can you tell Pepper to go screw himself when you don't want to take a job?"

"... Okay, maybe th-"

"Can you fly wherever you want without asking for permission first?"

"You wanna play this game?"

Wolf rolled on his belly, to have a better view of the vulpine, before replying with a cocky grin.

"Go ahead, bring it on!"

"Can you buy a house or an apartment?"

"I'm fine sleeping in spa-"

"Can you go to concerts, to the cinema, stuff like that?"

"Some of th-"

"Can you walk through the city without the fear of being recognized and captured?"

"I don't li-"

"Can you get married and start a family?"

The vulpine's heart skipped a beat, when he realized the line he just crossed. The smirk on the grey face suddenly vanished, as Wolf turned on his back and stared pensively at the darkening sky. During the silence that followed, Fox felt regret growing inside his stomach.

"Sorry... I didn't want... I realized a second too late..."

"No no no, that was fair game... I guess it's the price I have to pay not to have any order to follow."

"But why? What's wrong with upholding the law?"

"I was sure you'd say that." Wolf took a mocking robot voice. "I. Fox. McCloud. I. Must. Always. Obey. I. Good. Guy."

"If only you knew..."

Hearing this, the grey ears instantaneously rose up, and Wolf threw at the vulpine a glare full of intense curiosity, just like his voice as he asked:

"Anything I should know?"

"Let's just say... If we had known each other at the academy, you wouldn't say that."

"What?! You were a bad boy?!"

They both sat cross-legged, facing each other, and Fox spent a moment with his gaze lost in the void, as he was selecting the story to tell, while Wolf attentively and eagerly listened to every of his words.

"Which one... Oh, I know. It's a bit long, though. But please don't tell anybody, I can actually get in troubles for this."

The lupine's eyes widened even more, and the suspense made his tail wag.

"So here's the context: Falco and I, just started the academy, never flew or even saw an Arwing before. Second week of instruction: we're on watch duty. It means we have to spend the night guarding the hangars where the Arwings are stored.

"It was our second week, and the weather was freaking cold. So our captain, an adorable grizzly, gives us a whole bottle of scotch and a pack of cigarettes to make the night easier, even though these are forbidden in all military facilities."

"Hmm. I thought you never drink."

"That's where I'm getting at, actually. You'll see.

"So here we are, two stupid teenagers, with a whole bottle of scotch in our veins, who never touched a spacecraft, and with the keys of a hangar storing a dozen of them. So of course, we decide to check them out before the other recruits.

"Now I'm used to it, but shit, I mean those things are incredible when you see them for the first time! We were so excited, and naturally I climb inside a cockpit. Falco is just at my side, completely wasted like me, and we begin laughing and fiddling with the commands."

"Uh oh."

"Damn right. I find on the yoke the button to launch the missiles, and Falco says _You think they're loaded?_ and I'm like _Well let's find out!_. Turns out, they were."

Wolf burst into uncontrollable laughter. Fox couldn't help but to giggle, despite his effort not to be contaminated by the lupine's hilarity. Eventually, he pursued.

"And that's just the beginning!

"At that moment, we almost shit our pants when the wall ahead of us explodes and leaves a hole as big as a truck. We're completely panicked, we begin shouting at each other and crying – as I told you, we were wasted – and we come to the conclusion that if they don't know we did it, we're fine. All we must do is to make them believe we never came inside the hangar. It's a stupid reasoning, I know, but on the spot it made sense.

"So we must leave without leaving any trace. Which could have gone well... if I hadn't thrown up everywhere in the cockpit."

The lupine was struggling to contain a new explosion, and so was Fox, as he anticipated the rest of the story. In his voice, one could hear he was on the verge of loosing his shit.

"I thought I had no choice but to destroy the evidences. So I tell Falco..." he made a pause to restrain another laugh. "So I tell Falco to... to fetch me some... grenades..."

That was too much. Wolf was rolling on the grass, laughing even harder as before, holding his belly, with tears coming out of his closed eyes. He was struggling to breath and his tail was wagging furiously in every direction. Despite the laughter, Fox managed to continue.

"Wait! He comes back, running, holding six of them with his wings, and throws them inside the cockpit, one being unpinned. We run outside, and we just hear another explosion behind us. Then I notice he dropped his gourd, so I pick it up and give him back."

Wolf gasped as his eyes brusquely opened in concern.

"Oh no..."

"Exactly. That wasn't his gourd. In my defence, our gourds looked a lot like paw-grenades!

"Drunk as shit, I notice fuck all. But by miracle, he recognizes what I was holding, grabs it and throws it away. A bit too late, though. We survived, but the deflagration still knocked us out and sent us to the hospital. And then, the barracks commander comes to us, saying he doesn't know what happened, and thanking us for our heroic defence!"

It took them a while for their frenetic laugh to fade away. At the end, their stomach were hurting, and they struggled to catch their breath. They ended up sprawled on the dirt, panting. Eventually, they regained their composure and dried their tears, before Wolf broke the silence.

"Oh man... Is this true?"

"All of it."

"Holy shit... That was... fucking epic, mate... Now I know why you don't drink."

The vulpine lied back on the grass.

"It's also the first time Falco saved my life. We were already good friends, but it was from this moment we began always getting each other's back, and we stayed close together ever since. What about you? What kind of story so you have?"

"After the bomb you just dropped? No way I'm topping that... I mean damn, you were _wild_!"

Fox smirked at what he interpreted as a compliment.

"What about how you lost you eye?"

"Oh... Another time, maybe..." Wolf replied, before remembering he left his white eye uncovered the entire time. "Shit, if only I had my eyepatch..."

"You don't need it. It's not that ugly, you know."

"You... You think?"

"Trust me."

Silence settled again. They got back to gazing at the sky, which by the time had almost completely darkened. The canines were illuminated only by two large moons projecting a dreamlike silver light on them, which reminded the orange canine of their encounter with the neutron stars. It particularly recalled him of how he felt, how convinced he was that this kind of moment of bliss and rapture will never happen again. Well... Turns out the universe sent him a second opportunity to confess, as if it was trying to make amends. Once again, Fox took a deep breath, and prayed that this time will be the one.

"Wolf, I n-"

"What's that noise?"

_Oh for fuck's sake, again?!_

Fox listened carefully, but no sound was to be heard around them.

"I don't hear anything."

"Yeah, I think it disappeared."

The vulpine was about to make a new attempt, when Wolf interrupted again.

"There! You heard it?"

"Oh..." Fox realized what he was talking about. "It's... my tail... wagging."

The grey canine giggled. Now that he was sure the coast was clear, the vulpine started again.

"Wolf... I need to know something, but it's, like, very personal, and I'm not good with this sort of stuff. But... I reall-"

"Yes."

"Er... What?"

"I know what your question is, and the answer is yes."

Taken aback by this unexpected answer, Fox muted himself, as his face heated up and his heartbeat accelerated.

"But... How would you know?" he asked.

"Because I was about to ask you the same question."

During the silence that followed, both tails sweeping on the grass could be heard. Fox felt like his heart was about to escape from his chest.

"Are you sure? I don't..."

He gasped when he noticed that Wolf had quietly sneaked at his side, and had now his head just above his, his valid eye locked into his own. But this time, the lupine was determined. The confident grin on his face sent a shiver run down Fox's spine, as he continued slowly approaching his head, showing clearly he wanted to take the lead. Without fully understanding this sequence of event, Fox nonetheless opposed no resistance, incapable of taking his eyes off the beautiful wolf. Soon enough, their snout were so close, each canine could feel the other's breath messing with the whiskers on their own muzzle. Time slowed down once again...

The grey canine sent one of his paw gently grab the orange cheek, and caressed it with his pads. The meek touch caused Fox to relax every of his muscles and nerves, to close partially his eyes, and to abandon himself to the soft grip of the larger male, as his orange ears twitched and wiggled. Seeing how responsive the vulpine was, Wolf leaned his head down to make their noses touch. When they came in contact, Fox, instead of being surprised, threw a glance burning with passion, and stuck out his tongue to lick the lupine's snout. The grey canine reacted similarly, and his tongue went all over the orange muzzle. When both of them were drunk of their mate's taste and musk, Wolf pressed their snouts together once more, and tilted his head. Fox acted likewise. A slight movement later, their lips met, each canine allowing his partner to explore his mouth during a long and passionate kiss.

When they broke, huffing and puffing just like after the race earlier, their smouldering eyes met again. Fox was stunned and relaxed at the same time. He felt the need to say so many things, to ask so many questions. But Wolf left him no time to think, as he plunged his head back and seized the vulpine's lips with his own, his paw still caressing the orange head. The tip of the grey muzzle slowly went all the way down to Fox's neck, licking thoroughly the fur on its path, marking the vulpine of his scent, which caused Fox to let out a long and soft moan, as he slipped an arm around the lupine's neck, resolute not to let him go away.

"Oh... Wolf... Wolfy..."

After months locked inside a torture chamber, and months locked inside a spacecraft, Wolf could finally rediscover the meaning of intimacy, passion, love. He was determined to make up for lost time, and to take things further. His free paw crawled towards Fox's waist, and began to slip under his shirt, when the vulpine suddenly tensed up. Immediately, he broke all forms of contact, and stared, preoccupied, at his newfound lover.

"Something's wrong, Foxy?"

"It's just... Aren't we going a bit fast?"

"Fast?! I feel like we've been dating for months! Don't you?"

The vulpine's look and absence of answer indicated he got the point. Wolf leaned forwards, and dropped two gentle kisses, one on his snout and the other on his lips. Once again, his lips went all over the orange canine's muzzle and neck, leaving long kisses everywhere he could. All the while, several deep moans came out from Fox, betraying his passion and his desire.

"How far we go tonight is up to you." the grey canine said. "We can just kiss, or..."

The lupine's glare was glowing with fire and lust. Fox stayed quiet, but he couldn't hide his envy, for odours do not lie. Wolf's grin widened, and he took the initiative once more.

"I can hear your pants tighten, Foxy..."

That night, Fox found out that Wolf wasn't _always_ quick...

* * *

When Fox's eyelids opened just enough to allow the passage of light coming from the outside world, he felt taken decades ago, as he rediscovered what it was like to be awakened by a proper morning. He was lying on his side, facing the sunrise. He contemplated the grass quivering in the breeze, enjoying the wind caressing his naked body and bringing him scents from all over Ceneri. As his gaze was lost in the horizon, he heard the singing of the birds, and giggled when he imagined avians from Corneria performing in a similar fashion. Intelligent birds only sang for their loved ones, but the savage ones didn't seem to give a damn. Whoever wanted to listen was free to listen.

The ground he had been sleeping on was surely rugged and hard, and the nocturnal temperature was slightly too low for his taste. Nonetheless, the night he just had fairly outmatched all those spent inside the spacecraft, mainly because of the massive lupine, just as dressed, lying right behind him, his grey midsection pressing against his orange back. His muscular arm circled the vulpine's ribs to let his paw rest on his pectoral. The slow and regular rhythm of his breath on his neck led Fox to infer he was still deeply sleeping. As smoothly as possible, he turned to fully face his frien... No... Not his friend, not anymore...

Fox almost refused to believe what his eyes were showing him. The magnificient wolf, peacefully resting before his eyes, wasn't his friend, but his lover! He finally ended up in the lupine's arms! His gaze swept through Wolf's entire naked body, as he savoured his accomplishment. Eager for contact, but not wishing to wake the grey canine up, the vulpine made his paw gently glide on the grey fur, enjoying the touch of the soft hairs, the heat, the firmness of his muscles. And his scent... As he nudged his snout under the grey fur, and took several deep breath, delightfully tasting the lupine's musk in its entirety, he noticed that his own scent was all over Wolf's body, and that Wolf had marked the vulpine in return. He was Wolf's, and Wolf was his.

A slight shiver of the grey canine's whiskers betrayed is return among the awakened. Fox brought his muzzle right in front of Wolf's, and gave small flicks with his tongue on his snout. Eventually, the lupine's eyelids opened, revealing two eyes, one deep and purple, the other white and scarified. As they kept observing each other, Wolf felt his soul melt into the vulpine's magnificent emerald eyes. He couldn't refrain a remark.

"Damn, your eyes... Now that I see them from so close... They're really something..."

"I guess that makes one of us."

"Oh!"

Wolf took a falsely offended look, and started voraciously licking the face of the vulpine.

"Wait! ... Grrr... Stop!" the orange canine grumbled, annoyed, trying to escape from his grip.

"That's your punishment!"

Fox played along, stuck is tongue out, and the canines began a sort of lick battle, that quickly came to an end when their muzzle accidentally met, and their fight turned into a long kiss, the first of the day. When it broke, the lupine brought their forefronts together, and they maintained their grip on each other. Their eyes closed again, and all they could sense was the scent, the slow breathing, and the body of their mate along their own.

Eventually, Wolf rolled on his back, releasing his embrace and abandoning the vulpine on the grass, stood up on his feet, and stretched. Seeing all of his muscles harmoniously tensing, Fox let out a whistle, to which, as a response, the lupine briefly examined his naked body, and grew cocky smirk.

"Not bad, uh?"

 _Yup, and I tapped that!_ Fox thought as he nodded in agreement.

The grey canine briefly let the sun warming up his fur, before looking around for their ship, lying a few hundred metres from them.

"Where are you going?" the vulpine asked.

"Getting us something to eat."

"Don't you want to get dressed first?"

The lupine gestured around, pointing out the fact that nobody was there to see them. Moreover, the longer the orange canine could appreciate the view, the better.

Fox watched his mate walk away. Something definitely changed in his gait, as if he was on the verge on dancing. What an insane turn of event it was... The orange canine tried to mentally visualize his journey so far. The storm, the primates, and Wolf... Did it make sense? Maybe, maybe not, but did it matter, after all? Rejoicing at the coming days, he couldn't refrain a smile, as he felt wrapped with an intense sensation of serenity and hope. From now on, he would spend his time with his – he still couldn't believe it – boyfriend. A few months ago, such a situation would be beyond unfathomable. Should they sleep together, once they would be back in space? Or should they maintain the shifts? Nah, let's worry about that later. First, they were going to spent some lovely time here, and they deserved it.

Wolf was his boyfriend... Wolf was his boyfriend... The more he thought, the more real it felt. Since they arrived in this wicked galaxy, the future never seemed to bright, so welcoming. The lupine had gone barely a few minutes ago, yet Fox already missed the taste of his lips, his scent, his grey fur, his deep voice. Isn't it a shame that it took such an incident for them to acknowledge their mutual feelings? Why did things had to be so complicated? Back in Lylat, instead of fighting each other, they could already have been a happy couple... What a waste of time it was.

"FOX!!"

The powerful yell instantaneously dragged the vulpine out of his daydream. When he looked towards the ship, he saw Wolf waving him to come back.

"FOX!! HURRY!!"

The lupine was shouting so hard, he feared his lungs were about to escape. Without further considerations, Fox gathered their clothes, and ran to the spacecraft. What in the universe could it be? I better not be a joke! When he arrived, panting and exhausted, inside the cockpit, Wolf put his finger against his own mouth, inviting him to stay quiet, and pointed at the intercom.

" _...umstances. I repeat: avoid sector 2814_ _. Traffic must be deviated to sectors 281_ _5_ _and 2824._ _Cause: unknown perturbation._ _Inhabitants of sector 28_ _1_ _4 must consult government officials for further details._ _T_ _ravel in or through sector 2814_ _under_ _no_ _circumstances. I repeat: avoid sector 2814. Traffic must..._ "

"What's this? What's happening?" the vulpine asked.

"It's the emergency canal! It keep repeating the same message over and over!"

"So what? Why do we care?"

"Are you dumb? _Unk_ _n_ _own perturbation_. What do you think it is?!"

 _It could be anything,_ Fox thought. _How am I supposed... Oh... Oh! Holy shit!! No fucking way!!_

From the gasp and the astonishment appearing on the orange face, Wolf understood he understood.

"What else could it be, Fox? What _else_ could it be?!"

Both canines hastened to dress themselves. The trembling body of the lupine betrayed his enthusiasm and excitement, to the point where he struggled to start the engines and to lift the ship up in the air after having taken the pilot's seat. He pointed at the copilot's place.

"Prepare us to jump, there's no time to loose! It's a bloody miracle!"

"Wait, they explicitly forbade the access. What if we get arrested?"

"Ha! I would like to see them try!"

Fox glanced for the last time at the green surface of Ceneri, which was staring back in an ultimate farewell. Of course, having a chance to leave is great, but... Did it had to be this day? Couldn't have the storm waited some time for the canines to relax? The vulpine was forced to put his expectations behind him, as the ground beneath them kept getting smaller. So much for their vacations...

* * *

"This is it!"

Wolf couldn't stay still. Their spacecraft was flying at full speed towards a purple spot, that kept getting bigger as they approached. The light was dim, but there was little doubt regarding the nature of the event. The colour, the irregular shape, the occasional lightnings, ... It was enough to bring back the stressful and unpleasant memories of their first encounter.

"This is it! This is the exact thing! We're going home, Fox!"

The grey canine let out a loud and long howl that resonated for seconds in the ship. The vulpine, however, did not share the enthusiasm of his companion, something that didn't go unnoticed.

"Foxy? Why the long face?"

"What if..." he replied after a moment of silence. "I'm not so confident. We don't know if it will take us back to Lylat!"

"Worth the try."

"Are you sure? Wolf, we might just get crushed! Do I have to remind you we almost passed away last time?"

The lupine turned his chair to face the orange canine, grabbed his shoulder, and spoke firmly.

"Listen. I don't care how big our chances are to die. I don't care how dim our chances are to return home. If there is a chance, then we ought to take it, that's all. I don't get you, don't you want to go home?"

"I don't want us to die, above all!"

"So you prefer to stay here? In a galaxy that hates us?"

Fox kept his mouth shut. What could he say? Of course Wolf was right. Beside, the vulpine risked his life countless time in the past, why had it suddenly become a problem for him? He knew why. He had something to loose, something he never really had before. It would be unimaginably unfair for him to loose a lover barely a day after having found him, and a part of his mind urged him to avoid every scenario in which the chances of such tragedy would be above zero, even slightly. And right now, they were in one of those scenarios...

_Come on Fox, that's Wolf O'Donnell you're talking about, he can handle it! Stop being over-protective. He's absolutely right, the only alternative to diving in the storm is staying here forever, and you don't want that to happen, do you!_

"Forget I said anything." he eventually replied, resigned. "You're right. Let's just-"

" _Halt! You're not_ _allowed_ _to be here! Don't you know flying in or through the sector is temporarily forbidden?_ "

The sharp injunction interrupted their discussion, as they saw, through the window, four warships coming at them. Fox seized the intercom.

" _Please apologize, we just try to get home!_ "

" _The interdiction also appl_ _ies_ _to_ _locals_ _, you're supposed to take refuge in neighbouring sectors_ _!_ "

" _But... Er... My wife just gave birth, and-_ "

" _I don't want to hear a thing. State name_ _and registration number of your spaceship._ "

The vulpine turned to Wolf to seek for help, only to found a wide mocking grin from ears to ears.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" the lupine asked, unable to hide his amusement.

"I had to improvise! What do we do now?"

"I don't know, maybe give them a birth announcement card."

"Wolf!"

"What do you want me to say? If it was up to me, we would just blast the shit out of those fucktards."

"No, there is four of them, we can't win this. I may buy us some time, but if we don't-"

" _Immobilize your ship immediately! Don't do anything suspicious! We won't hesitate to shoot you down! This is your only warning!_ "

Taken aback by this unexpectedly brutal order, the canines threw a confused glance at each other. It's only after a brief moment of silence that Fox understood the tricky situation they were entangled in.

"They must have found out our ship is stolen! Look, one of them is coming to dock!"

Indeed, as Wolf looked outside, he caught sight of one of the four warship approaching their own. Fear began to grow inside their stomachs.

"Fox... If we can't fight them..."

"I may have an idea, but we must act quick. Listen: ..."

A handful of minutes later, the hatch opened, to let seven primates, highly trained, heavily equipped and armed to the teeth, trespass in the stolen spacecraft. The engines being turned off, only the deafening silence was present to welcome them in an arena in which violence was about to disembark and blood about to be spilled. Stepping onto their path would indubitably be an unwise move for anybody. Left. Right. Forwards. Each of their steps were cold, calculated, their coordination was near-perfect, they fingers were on the triggers, ready to release the deadly shipment loaded in their guns. They were not here to parley.

Their quiet steps allowed them to hear a smothered thud, coming from underneath.

" _Team_ _Ambos_ _, on the lower level. Team_ _Bivio_ _,_ _clear the area_ _. Team_ _Canale_ _with me_ _,_ _we_ _break in the cockpit._ " the leader ordered. " _Remember: only the_ _spacecraft_ _matters. Kill the thieves at first sight._ "

Two soldiers took the stairs leading to the engine room, while two others roamed through the hallway on the main deck, leaving the rest of the group in front of the closed cockpit door. They walked slowly, making sure they had a perfect view of their surroundings before making any step further. They perfectly knew the procedure to explore any zone without leaving the opportunity for the enemy to surprise them, from ahead or behind. Whoever would come in their sight would instantaneously be shot before having the chance to bat an eyelid. Unless...

"WOLF, NOW!!"

The power was suddenly cut. All lights died out, leaving the primates in complete darkness.

For it was a useful information about this specie. Their senses of smell and hearing were below average, their sense of sight however was redoubtable... on daylight. But their eyes weren't suitably equipped to deal with the darkness of the night, unlike canines.

There would be a very short time span between the extinction of the lights and the moment the umuns would turn on their own, the canines had to act quickly. The primates were highly trained? So were they. Coming out of the shadows, Fox silently jumped behind the group exploring the main deck, cut one soldier's carotid, pinned the other on the floor before he had time to react, and shove his blood-soaked knife deep into his throat, taking both of their lives before they realized what just happened to them.

The approach of Wolf, hidden inside the engine room, was slightly more brutal. Confused by the sudden invasion of darkness, team Ambos didn't interpret correctly the sound that just came to their ears. The sound of a small metallic object rolling on the floor, at their feet. At the very moment they realized, the deflagration of the grenade sent their limbs and their guts in every direction. The echo of the explosion resonated across the entire spacecraft.

" _Ambos_ _! Report!_ _Ambos_ _!_ " The tone of the leader betrayed his fear.

" _There is no_ _more_ _team_ _Ambos_ _..._ " Wolf replied with his deep voice, the radio in his paw.

" _They're on the lower deck!_ _Canale_ _, we're going there!_ _Bivio_ _, get us covered!_ "

But no sound came back to answer the shaky voice of the sweating leader.

" _Bivio_ _! What's your status?_ "

No response.

" _Chief, shouldn't we retreat?_ "

" _Shut down your radio_ _s_ _. We're going down, and we take care of those bastards._ "

The three remaining soldiers made their way towards the engine room. One could clearly see their confidence was shattered. The tip of their guns was trembling when they came close to the stairs leading downwards, as emerged, walking on four feet, a... a wolf?

" _Uh? What's a wolf doing here?_ "

All three primates briefly turned their head to see the lupine for themselves, leaving their back temporarily unwatched. Bad move. Fox jumped at the opportunity, appeared behind them, drew his blaster, and took them down with a single burst. When the body collapsed, lifeless, on the cold metal floor, a proud grin formed on the lupine's face, as he stood up.

" _There is no more team_ _Ambos_? Seriously?"

"I had to say it!" Wolf replied. "Admit it, it was a great line!"

He grabbed the clothes he left on top of the stairs and dressed himself.

"I'm afraid I did quite a mess down there. So, what do we do now, Foxy?"

"There are three warships remaining out there, and a three versus one fight is still too risky."

"How about a three versus two?"

Fox frowned in confusion. Seeing he didn't get the point, Wolf waved towards the airlock.

"Their ship is still docked. I can take it, together we shoot those fucktards down, and we rush into the storm. What do you say?"

"Oh... Er... I guess it could work..."

"On my way, then."

When the grey canine turned around, something clicked inside Fox. Wolf was about to take a transversal corridor, to disappear from his field of view, and if something went wrong... Then it would be the last time he saw him. Without a word. Without a farewell. Without even a look. Was destiny cruel enough to permanently separate so prematurely? Experience taught the vulpine its implacability knew no mercy. Whatever the future was made of, one couldn't deviate from its track. But saying a last word always was an option, and there was, between them, a word that still needed to be told and heard.

"Wolf, wait!"

The lupine glanced behind his back, to see the young vulpine running towards him.

"Wolf... Before you go, I want to say... I... I..."

Fox seemed not being capable of forming his thoughts into words, but the grey canine had a pretty good idea of what he was trying to say. He stepped towards the orange canine, gently seized his cheeks with both of his paws, and gave him a short kiss on the lips. Not profound and passionate, but sincere and intense nonetheless, like a final goodbye.

"I love you, Fox." He whispered.

"I... I love you too, Wolf."

They took each other in their arms, their chest pressed against each other, and hold their grip tightly, as if it was the last of their hugs. Fox rubbed his muzzle in Wolf's neck, leaving his scent on him for what, he feared, might be the last moments of one of them. Despite finding themselves in the midst of dead bodies, the sensation of their mate's pulsation was a soothing reassurance, like a promise that their hearts would never cease to beat.

"Please, come back to me."

Fox's voice betrayed his worry. The lupine broke their hug, and plunged his eyes into his lover's.

"Have a bit of faith, Fox. We're the toughest motherfuckers those guys ever met. We'll kick their asses, and then we'll fly home."

A final tap on the vulpine's shoulder, a final look, and Wolf made his way towards the docked ship.

"Lylat is expecting us, Foxy. Let's not make them wait!" he threw in the air, before disappearing from the orange canine's sight.

As expected, the docked spacecraft was almost empty, the corpses of their occupants resting on the canine's. It did not prevent Wolf from drawing out his blaster and advancing carefully towards the cockpit, listening meticulously for anything that would disturb the quietness. He violently burst into the cockpit, startling two primates who did not expect to see a bipedal wolf threatening them with a loaded blaster. Unarmed and taken by surprise, their bodies trembled as they mumbled unintelligible gibberish. Smashing the floor with his foot, Wolf called them to order.

" _Please... Please don't kill us..._ "

" _I made a promise to someone, you can consider yourselves lucky... Are there_ _available_ _escape pods?_ "

The lupine was completely insensitive to their supplications, but he hadn't forgotten his oath.

Meanwhile, Fox had regained the pilot's seat on their own spacecraft, and waited for his boyfriend's signal. His attention was suddenly drawn to two capsules freshly ejected from the docked ship. He grabbed the intercom.

"Wolf? What was that?"

"Don't bother, they'll be fine. I started undocking, but I have bad news. The others fighters are trying to contact me, and I think they're getting suspicious."

"Let's get the party started, then. Waste their time while I rotate to face the one behind us. On your mark, I take him down, you take care of the one ahead, and-"

"And we'll improvise for the third? Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

A simultaneous chuckle ended the conversation. Fox could feel the adrenaline rising in his brain as the night sky slid while he was rotating. His movements were jerky, his breathing staccato, his fingers were trembling around the yoke. His heart was racing like a machine-gun when his target eventually entered his field of view. They would have to be fast, to aim accurately on first try and to immediately fly away to escape the shots of the third warship.

"Wolf, ready?"

"Hold on..."

The following silence put a strain of the vulpine's nerves. His focus was so intense, his breathing and his heart temporarily stopped, like when he had to land on an aircraft carrier at night.

"GO!"

The sudden signal released a colossal load of adrenaline in his veins. Aim. Pull. Shoot. Confirm hit. Push. Accelerate. Turn. Escape. Dodge the incoming blasters. Thinking wasn't a requirement for the experienced pilot he was. A quick look at the screens informed him the third ship was chasing him, from very close. Twirl. Spin. Dodge again. Yaw up. Down. Left. The pursuer wouldn't be unable to predict Fox's next move if himself couldn't. Ahead of him, only the distant storm was here to serve as a reference point. Plunge. Turn. Brake. Accelerate again. The intense stress might have made his brain melt if Wolf hadn't eventually blown his chaser up.

"To the storm, now!" the lupine yelled through the intercom. "Follow me!"

After this intense race, Fox wouldn't mind letting Wolf take the lead. The view of the other spacecraft, flying at his side, somewhat reassured him, as if the lupine would be safe as long as Fox could see him. More warships were sent to intercept them, but as the duo flew towards the storm, they kept building up their speeds, so that arresting them or shooting them down was now beyond the realm of feasibility, at least for the primates. However, it wasn't necessarily a good thing. The canines were just escaping a danger to plunge, headlong, into another one, far more deadly and ruthless.

Their chasers, obviously wiser than them, had already turned around, and abandoned the canines to their fate, whatever it would turn out to be. Once again, they penetrated into the unchained tempest. Once again, the purple clouds filled their views. Once again, occasional lightnings accompanied them. Once again, Fox felt the panic and the fear kicking in. This was a place the vulpine hoped never to come back in, and here he was, purposely diving into the storm that nearly killed him, into the storm that caused so many of his current problems. He felt once again his own ship trembling under the action of the tempest, and his own body trembling under the fear. Suddenly, a lightning stroke his companion's spacecraft, but this time, it wasn't to send him in some distant galaxy.

After the flash, Fox briefly observed his lover's position, and his heart skipped a beat. The lightning nearly obliterated the lupine's ship, which started to spin uncontrollably, and to deviate from the intended trajectory.

"Wolf! Are you okay?!"

"Fox... Keep... Keep going..."

His weak voice was alarming. The shock hurt him, and pretty badly. The panic caused by a fateful perspective was impossible for the vulpine to contain.

"Can you keep going?! Do you need help?! Wolf!!"

"Go home... Don't bother about me..."

"Don't you fucking say that! I'm not leaving without you! Can you take back the control of your ship?"

"... ... ..."

"WOLF!!"

The vulpine's cry was desperate. As his companion's spacecraft kept drifting away, it became obvious to him that, whether his mate would live or not, Wolf wasn't returning in the Lylat system, at least not today. Therefore, neither did Fox. He pulled on the yoke and bifurcated.

"I'm coming for you, hold on!"

* * *

The first thing Wolf felt when he regained consciousness was a weight on his midsection. The memory of the shock, and of the intense pain that followed, was still vivid in his mind. He opened his eyes, to see himself lying on what looked like a hospital bed, his upper torso covered with bandages, inside the sick bay he immediately recognised. He had returned on the spacecraft he stole with Fox. The vulpine had been sleeping on his belly, his head shoved in his arms, and the slight movements of the grey canine were enough to drag him out of his sleep.

The green eyes widened in relief at the moment they met Wolf's. He was about to take his lover in his arms when the lupine abruptly interrupted him.

"We're not in Lylat, are we?"

The shaking head Fox gave him was the answer he feared. His worst expectation turned out to be accurate. All of this, for nothing! They spent months tracking a storm, and the first that showed up purely and simply denied him passage! Why was the universe so persistent about keeping him in this cursed galaxy? But Fox could have gone further. Fox could have been reunited with his loved ones. How stupid did he had to be to pass this miraculous chance? If the lupine couldn't return home, at least his lover should have. He should have...

"You should have left me..."

"And let you die? Are you serious?!"

"Absolutely!"

Wolf tried to get up, but his wound throbbed and forced him to stay on the bed. Seeing the lupine wince under the dolour, Fox grabbed his paw.

"It was your only chance!" the grey canine continued. "Why didn't you took it? Why haven't you tried to go back to your friends?"

A single tear rolled down the orange cheek.

"Wolf... You... You know why..."

With his available paw, Fox caressed his boyfriend's head, trying to calm down both of them.

"I can't afford to loose you, Wolfy. If I abandon you... I would never be able to look at myself in the mirror ever again..."

 _So_ _,_ _this is_ _the reason_ _why?_ Wolf thought. _This is why you let this opportunity fly away? Because of me?_

Of course... He couldn't expect such a behaviour from Fox. It seemed he was doomed to be the inevitable cause of the vulpine's death, even when he desperately wanted him to live. He shouldn't have confessed him his feelings. He should have rejected him. He should have made sure Fox still hated him, so that the orange canine wouldn't hesitate to forsake the lupine and to save his own skin. Forcing the one he loves to stay beside him, so far away from home, just because he loves him back... Shame and guilt brought the grey canine on the verge of crying.

"Fox... Your love for me might kill you someday, you know that?"

"And I don't give a fuck." the orange canine replied, before leaning forward and pushing their lips together.


	7. Greetings, humans

Was it cloudy? Or was it sunny? Perhaps thunder was breaking out all around Falco. Perhaps a supersonic wind was trying to free him from the restrains of gravity. Or perhaps the sky was all blue and the sun was as shiny as in a commercial for a laundry product. Perhaps his vision was blurred by a dense fog or a snowstorm. Or perhaps the fresh air was still and tranquil. Perhaps the horizon wiggled under an intense heat. Or perhaps his spits froze instantaneously and cold steam was blowing from his beak. Whatever was happening around the blue pheasant had little effect, if not at all, on his mental state. He was walking monotonously, starring at his feet, raising his head from time to time to avoid a possible brutal encounter with a bystander or a street lamp. He had someone to talk to.

His shoulders bumped one time or two, raising angered responses and exclamations from someone passing, before the event disappeared from the avian's memory. He ignored him. He could have said sorry. An old lady asked him to help her understand which bus leads where. He ignored her. He could have helped. An old pal from the academy recognised him and waved. He ignored him. He could have said hello. Not only could he have answered to everyone trying to have an interaction with the bird, but he would have, under usual circumstances. He would have apologized, he would have helped, he would have waived back... had he succeeded in putting order in his troubled mind, for a recent tragedy turned the otherwise cocky and confident pheasant into an inexpressive and morose monolith. If Falco wanted to live normally again, he would first have to talk to someone.

The destination was getting closer. Unwilling to see people, to bother with public transportation services, or to focus on an asphalt road, he came walking, even though it consumed almost two hours of his time. But he didn't care, what would he have done anyway? He didn't need free time, not today. His phone was off. He didn't need distractions. He only needed to talk to someone.

The pheasant soon reached the fence, behind which the ceremony had already ended, ceremony he was supposed to attend, about three hours ago. He came late, on purpose. There was a lot of things he didn't need, and a few he definitely didn't want, such as fake consolations from strangers who shamelessly used the death of his best friend only to extend their network of contacts. And most importantly, he was ready to punch anybody who would have the guts to tell him _I'm sorry for your loss, he was the best of us_. No he wasn't! That retard was too stubborn to escape an avoidable death! _He was so brave_. No he wasn't! He was obtuse, and his obtuseness got him killed!

After walking along the fence, he stumbled on the entrance, and made his way across the grass and the grey stones. Isn't it queer how people became overly laudatory when graving these? A loving mother. A brave soldier. A trustworthy companion. An inspiring leader. Where were the sadistic maniacs? The abusive parents? The narcissistic perverts? Surely they must have been somewhere, hidden under a deceptive epitaph, dissimulating their true natures in their deaths like they did in their lives. Instead, we say that their lives were complicated. That they were troubled, but good-hearted. That they were unlucky. Truth was less relevant than it ever was.

A frog, standing way ahead of him, marked the end of his walk. He and Falco were the only souls (living souls, at least) present in this quiet place. While he was approaching, he noticed the moving lips of Slippy, who closed his mouth as soon as he sensed the presence of the avian. When Falco eventually reached his side, silence settled between them, both pilots willing to let the other break the quietness, as they were starring at a grave (an empty grave, for there was nothing to bury) wearing the following inscription:

_It took this universe five minutes to end a dynasty  
Whose bravery and talent won't be surpassed in five centuries  
In this world reluctant to reward altruism and sacrifices  
Fox McCloud, like his father before him, showed us the way  
The most courageous of the pilots, the most loyal of the friends  
Leaves behind him a mournful nation along empty hearts_

_What a bunch of bollocks..._ the pheasant told himself. _Fox would have found that terrible._

But of course, those who wrote this didn't care, since the vulpine wasn't here to give his opinion anymore. All they asked for was a handful of applauses, some tears, a couple of months so that everyone would forget and move on, and then another "once in a lifetime" pilot would emerge from the mass of anonymous faces that formed the cornerian army. They pretended to care, and everyone pretended to believe their care was genuine, that's how the system worked. And when a tragedy showed up, the weeping eyes turned into shrugging shoulders as soon as the crowd wasn't here to watch. He lost a friend. They just lost a smile to print in the newspapers.

"You missed out everyone." Slippy eventually said. "Peppy expected you to show up."

The frog's remark dissipated in the air without an answer, for there wasn't much to say. Falco didn't want to see people, and they both knew it. The actual message that waited to be understood in Slippy's words was that it wasn't nice of him to abandon the frog alone in the ceremony. But the amphibian knew enough of his feathered friend's solitary habits, and had already learned to respect them, and not to expect the pheasant to bend over backwards to please people whom none of them will ever meet again.

"I wonder..." Slippy began.

Hearing the long silence that followed, Falco turned his head to his friend, inviting him to express his thoughts.

"I wonder... if we could have... prevented this?"

"No." the bird replied sharply. "I told him he'd die. I did everything I could, we all did. He had it coming."

They contemplated the stone, and the lifeless flowers scattered at its base, reflecting. Reflecting on what they live would become, now that Fox wasn't here to maintain the team together anymore. Reflecting on what the vulpine would have wanted for them. Reflecting on what they lives would have been if they never met Fox. Reflecting on... whatever they could, as if each of their ruminations allowed them to see and hear their late friend for a last time. The orange canine had taken such a place in their lives, the void he abruptly left behind, without leaving anyone the chance to say goodbye, would indubitably be a hard one to fill.

"I didn't dare to ask you this before, but..." Slippy hesitated. "Where you with him? In his last moments?"

Falco hoped never to dive into these memories again. But his teammate deserved the truth just as much as he did. He contained the emotions threatening to explode inside him.

"We... We lost contact. His last words were probably _Falco was right_ or _Shit shit shit shit_."

"Yeah but..." As he continued, a tear rolled down his green cheeks, as his voiced was distorted by an intense sorrow. "I can't remember the exact last thing he told me... I know it sounds trivial but..."

By the end of the sentence, the frog was quietly sobbing, unable to stop a constant flow of tears from his eyes. Two reassuring arms wrapped him and pressed him against the pheasant, and he drew upon the comfort his feathered friend's embrace were providing him. He didn't care if he looked too emotional. His captain and dear friend just died, wasn't he allowed to cry? Or was he expected to appear imperturbable, like Falco? Screw this. It wasn't like it mattered anyway, since only the avian was here to witness, and he would never dare to judge him.

As they maintained their embrace, Falco's voice rose up above Slippy's cry.

" _I'm so close, Falco. I can almost touch him_. This is the last thing I heard..."

"Well..." The frog freed himself from the pheasant's feathers. "At least he took that bastard with him..."

He dried his tears, and they went back at listening the surrounding silence, which suited the place perfectly. But no matter what they did, the void left by Fox refused to let them in peace. If there is anything their leader never told them, is how to cope with his fateful departure, which was inevitable given the overall attitude of the vulpine. Never caring about risks, about danger, about dying, ... Should one really be surprised that such a foolish behaviour led him to his death? Naturally, one doesn't control the future, but still, Falco's remark was morbidly relevant: Fox had it coming.

"Do I drive you?" Slippy asked as he was about to leave. "We're expected at my place."

"I don't want to see people."

"Only Peppy and us will be there. Maybe Bill. But no one else."

"Oh... Just go ahead then, I'll be there in minutes. There's something... something I must say to him."

And the amphibian made his way towards the exit, leaving the pheasant alone in front of the tombstone. The bird listened carefully, waiting for the moment his green friend would be too far to hear his voice, for he needed all the privacy in the universe for his oncoming discussion. Finally... He could finally talk to him, alone. Finally, he could unleash himself, without the fear of being seen of heard, as he was about to give a talk he wished he would have given his orange friend before the Reaper took him away. He took a deep breath.

"I hope you're proud, asshole..."

Grief and sorrow broke his voice, as tears began flowing once again. But he was alone, so he could worry-free release everything he held back so far.

"Always do as you like, and where did it take you? Tell me! What did ignoring my advice gave you? Is this what you wanted? Answer me, you piece of shit!"

He made his foot swing to shoot away two flowers from the grave, before making his best to calm his voice down.

"Why can't you be reasonable for once? Why can't you just listen, like WE always do? I was there, I told you to save yourself, why do you always have to be like this, Fox?"

He left the question resonate in the air, as he expected the tomb to speak back. But would any response be close to satisfying? Fox was a stubborn idiot, that was the only valid answer, and it wasn't a secret to Falco.

"You're a shitty friend, you know that? A shitty animal, a shitty pilot, and a shitty friend, and you got what you fucking deserve. No more, no less. I don't even know why I'm dropping tears for you, you haven't earned them."

For a while, no words were to be heard amidst the tombstones, only the discrete sobs of a desperate and outraged pheasant. Outraged at his friend's stubbornness. Outraged at destiny's cruelty. Outraged at this army, at this universe, at everything, at himself. Eventually, after having regained his composure, his breathing was calm, and although his eyes were still wet, no tears were rolling on his cheeks.

"You're an asshole... A shitty friend... And I'll miss you, Fox. I'll miss you so much..."

Tranquillity and quietness regained back their place over the whole cemetery. Falco's bag was empty, and even though he still wasn't at peace, there was nothing left in this place that could help him cope with the tragedy. After a last goodbye, he turned away. Let's not make Slippy wait any longer.

* * *

A strong lupine's scent informed Fox the bed he woke up in wasn't his own. Not that it bothered him, on the contrary. Since they regained back their cold spacecraft, only the odour of his lover was here to comfort him. He spent some time in the dark, eyes closed, enjoying the smell coming out of the sheets, before waving his arms around him, looking for his mate. Surprisingly, no wolf was to be found at his side, just an empty space, sparsely peppered with grey hairs, and still warm from his presence, leaving the vulpine highly disappointed, since he hoped to snuggle against him and to take refuge in his fur.

Another handful of months passed since their encounter with the storm. They maintained their shifts, since it had become part of their daily routine, however the hope wasn't as radiant as before. A part of Fox's mind already gave up, and advised him to content himself with his new life however he could, no matter how miserable it had become. Wolf was hard to read, but he didn't seem prone to make any change to their routine. The compromise they found was the following: regularly, they stopped the monitoring for a night to sleep together, something they never did before, to give both of them the warmth and comfort they needed. But even then, the lupine was overwhelmed by the urge to see his home world again.

"Wolfy?" Fox whispered. "Are you there?"

_Seriously? He left? He promised we would spend this night together!_

Fox wasn't in the mood for sleeping anymore. He promptly grabbed some clothes and exited the bedroom, before stepping in the cockpit, where he found, as expected, the grey canine, seated in front of the computers, so focused on the screens he didn't notice the coming of his companion. The vulpine couldn't help to feel a hint of resentment and jealousy. Surely, getting back home was important, but so was their relationship, and Fox had the impression of being the only one to care about the latter. Seeing Lylat again was uncertain, and maintaining their shifts might damage the couple they were, since they both needed intimacy and comfort from one another, even if the orange canine was the only one to admit it.

"Wolfy? What are you doing here?"

The question was purely rhetorical, of course. Although the vulpine couldn't distinguish exactly what the screens were presenting, he could still guess that the lupine pursued their quest for a new storm while he was asleep. As a response, Wolf simply acknowledged his presence with a quick glance, before plunging his whiskers back in front of the computers, without a word. That was all? He abandoned his mate, and didn't bother to excuse or explain himself? Such behaviour wasn't that surprising on his behalf, given his desperation to see Lylat again, but still, he could have said something. Not cool.

"Wolf, come on. Go back to bed with me, we'll continue tomorrow."

"I'll join you later." the lupine replied without much conviction.

But one should be a fool to believe that such a promise, threw half-heartedly in the air, would have the desired effect on the vulpine. Fox went at his side and was about to shut the system down, when the lupine firmly grabbed his arm and pushed him away.

"I'll join you later!" he repeated.

"We haven't slept together in weeks! Can we just have this one night?"

"There are more important things than cuddling and fucking, Fox!"

The sleep deprivation had rendered the canines as irritable and touchy as bottles of nitroglycerine. Both of their voices were already louder than necessary.

"Seriously Wolf, you really think it's gonna make a difference? It's been months we're doing this!"

"Oh no, don't tell me you've given up!"

The lupine's attention drifted entirely away form the screens as he left the seat.

"That was the plan, Fox! We keep doing this until we find a way back home! It happened once, it can happen again."

"I wouldn't be so sure... Listen, I went through their databases. Several times. There is no record of such event in the past millennium. They don't expect this to occur again in our lifetime!"

Wolf didn't answer, hoping the vulpine would give up and let the subject die. Unfortunately for him, the orange canine wasn't keen to keep this routine indefinitely.

"Wolf... We have to consider-"

"No!"

The lupine feared the words about to come out from his mate's mouth more than death itself, for this thought kept torturing him for weeks, to the point where he could barely sleep at night. The orange canine pursued.

"It's possible that we might-"

"Do NOT finish this!"

"... might never go back home-"

"Stop talking!"

"... and to spend the rest of our lives-"

"No!! Never!!"

Accompanied by a cry of rage and despair, a grey fist flew right on a screen, spreading pieces of glasses over the console, barely failing to deeply graze his fingers. The explosion froze the vulpine, torn between not willing to see his lover in such a state and wanting him to come at peace with their miserable situation.

"I won't die here, Fox, you hear me?! That's out of question!"

"What's the point of continuing this crap, if we both know we probably won't find another storm?! Or that even if we do, the result will be just as pointless as last time?!"

Fox's tone was full of distress and despair, and his eyes were getting wet, which only made the condition of the lupine worse, as he began to cry too.

"I don't give a shit, I refuse to give up and stay here!"

"Wolf, maybe we have to!"

"NO!! We will go home! We... We will go..."

A blur of tears interrupted him. To prevent a possible dolorous fall, Wolf sat on the floor, trying to hide his tears from Fox, whose heart melted at the sight of his lover's mind collapsing. The guilt of tormenting the lupine was quickly replaced by the need to make things clear, once and for all. The vulpine kneeled down next to his mate, and took him in his arms, before gently stroking the top of his grey head, and trying, between his own sobs, to comfort him the best he could.

"I hate this perspective, Wolf... As much as you do, believe me... But... But we can't just ignore the inevitable..."

"What kind of life would that be? ... What will we do? ..."

Fox left this question without answer, for himself was clueless as of what they ought to do. But he didn't want to think about the harsh truth, only to find consolation in the proximity of his grey mate. They let their tears wet their companion's fur, sensing both of their breathing and heartbeat progressively slowing down. Emptying their minds was among the wisest move, since all they could think of was the inescapable nature of their nightmare. Wolf was right when saying that they had no future in this galaxy, and Fox was right when saying that ignoring the inevitable won't lead to anything good. But enough with torments. They tightened their grips, to remember that at least, they were here for each other, and that it was something this cursed galaxy would never dare to take away from them.

" _To anyone who's listening, we desperately need help!_ "

The sudden woman's voice coming out of the intercom surprised both canines.

"Oops, forgot to turn that off." Wolf said.

"No, wait!"

Fox took the pilot's seat, and looked for the origin of the signal.

" _Please, we're being chased, and we won't hold much longer!_ "

"We can reach them in minutes, let's go!"

"Just let them die."

To the lupine's remark, Fox threw an outraged glare burning of reproach.

"Wolf! I thought we already went through this!"

"I promised not to kill them, that doesn't mean I have to prevent them from killing one another."

"Don't be ridiculous. Not saving someone is just as bad as ki-"

"jUsT aS bAd As KiLliNg... You and your moral code... There aren't any camera around for you to show off, why do you care?"

"I'm not debating this with you. Not now. We're going. If you don't want to help me, that's fine."

The lupine rolled in eyes, sighed in lassitude, and sat next to the orange canine, who grabbed the intercom.

" _Just hold on, we'll be here anytime soon!_ "

" _Oh thank God! Please hurry!_ "

" _My name isn't God, but you're welcome._ "

" _Er... What?_ "

The canines shrugged at each other, unsure of what to do with this interaction, before Fox went at full speed towards the origin of the signal. It didn't take them long to spot an imposing carrier, tailed by two little fighters, standing out from the dark background. Several impacts were visible on the fuselage, and although the carrier was indubitably heavy, it was clear that a few more well-aimed shots from the chasers would turn the big spacecraft into a flying mausoleum.

"Look at the size of that thing!" Wolf exclaimed. "There's enough room for twenty people, at least."

"But it probably wasn't intended to fight. I don't see any weaponry."

" _I see you! The_ _re's two of them,_ _right_ _behind us!_ "

" _Who's accompanying you?_ " the vulpine asked.

" _There's just me and my husband._ "

" _That's all? Isn't your ship a bit... oversized?_ "

" _We escaped with what we could!_ "

Fox turned to his mate.

"Listen, here's what we'll do. I yaw now, and go in semi-circle, so that we can attack by taking the flanks. You... What's so funny?"

"Seeing you improvising battle plans. It gets me every time." the lupine answered as he giggled. "Haven't you heard of the strategy: charging in and shooting around?"

"Well, now I know why you're the one who lost our dogfights." Fox replied with a cocky smirk.

"... You won that round, Foxy..."

They acted as planned, and flanked the two pursuers. The leading spacecraft was too focused on the big cruiser to notice a heavily armed warship charging at full speed, preceded by a dozen of blasts that turned him into an unrecognisable mass of metallic debris, floating through empty space, taken by their momentums. The second chaser, however, was a tougher one to get rid of. His position allowed him to spot the canines sooner, and he immediately manoeuvred to take them from behind. A brief dance ensued, both ships trying to surprise its opponent, before Wolf, with a howl of victory, obliterated him with the turret. The canines didn't stole their reputations as redoubtable fighters, in their home galaxy or in this one. Soon, the wrecks drifted away from their trajectory, indicating they weren't a threat anymore.

" _Okay, everything's clear!_ " the vulpine announced. " _Have a nice-_ "

" _Wait! My husband is seriously hurt, and we don't have the proper equipment on board! You did so much for us, and there's no way we can pay you back, but if he doesn't get medical attention he might die!_ "

" _Oh... Sure, just let us-_ "

Wolf grabbed the intercom from Fox's hand, interrupting him mid-sentence.

"Fox, you're pushing it! We saved them, just like planned, now let's get away!"

"But they still need our help!"

"You really want to make them come in _our_ ship?! Use _our_ facilities?! We already did enough for them, now they're on their own!"

Fox seized the intercom back.

"I'm not letting another animal dying, that's it. I'm not talking about befriending them, let's just get them what they need and we'll never see them again."

"That kind of thinking will kill you, you know that?"

The vulpine didn't react, and instead spoke in the device again.

" _We're coming to dock, so that you can use our facilities. But there's something you_ _should_ _know first._ " Then, to Wolf. "Start the docking procedure, I'll go and greet them."

"Fox, let me make something clear: none of them enter the upper deck, or the cockpit. If I see just a hint of their hairless faces, I'll blow them out without any warning, you better tell them that!"

"Let me take care of this, and you won't have to meet any of them, promised."

Fox exited the cockpit, leaving the lupine alone with his thoughts. While he was walking towards the airlock, he pursued the conversation with the woman, having taken the intercom with him.

" _Listen, there's something you have to know. We are not... er... umuns._ "

" _... I'm sorry, what?_ "

" _Umun? Uman? I mean, like, your specie?_ "

" _Uh... Human? You're not humans?!_ _For real?!_ _Is it what you just said?!_ "

" _That's it. So just don't be afraid, we're not here to harm you._ "

" _I... I don't doubt that, but..._ _but..._ _Wait a minute... What are you, then?_ "

" _Well..._ "

The sound produced by the hatch in front of Fox indicated the door was about to open.

" _... You'll soon find out._ "

The hatch opened, allowing the two mammals to look directly at each other. Since Fox already saw humans, the sight of a woman with long brown hairs didn't surprise him the slightest, but the same cannot be said about the primate. Her eyes widened in astonishment and discomfort, stumped by the presence of a bipedal fox staring back at her, with an orange face way too expressive for an average vulpine. The confusion paralysed her, confronted to a situation nothing in this galaxy could have prepared her for, and the orange canine almost saw the tips of her fingers trembling. Obviously, she was in no condition to take the initiative.

Fox raised his right paw, and took a welcoming and innocent tone.

" _Greetings!_ "


	8. An unexpected assistance

_The eyes open, but only one is functional. Blinding lights strike the sensitive retina. Nothing is to be distinguished for a while. Nothing to be heard either. Sharp pain on the head. The wolf was violently knocked recently. His memories are still blur, his mind is slowly crawling back to consciousness. The valid eye adjusts to the light, and the surroundings gradually unveil themselves. A lamp, above the wolf's body, projects onto him a cold white halo, and his grey fur reflects the beams all around, revealing a cold windowless room. Memories still blur. Events unclear. The wolf needs to sort things out, to move._

_To move. Difficult, if not impossible, surprisingly. All legs and arms are tensed, maintained by straps squeezing the wrists and the ankles. Tight. Dolorous. Any movement puts pressure on the ligaments and tendons. The one-eyed wolf try to pull, to stir. It hurts. He yells. Only the echo replies. He's lying on a metal table, his four libs spread by the restraints. Naked. No piece of clothes protects his fur from an unwanted look, even his wounded eye is unchastely exposed to the outside world. Captured. Immobile. It was no accident, somebody put him there. Panic starts to seize his mind. His heartbeat scales up. Weak. Vulnerable. At the mercy of absolutely any threat. Footsteps. Footsteps! Danger!_

_The wolf moves his head around. In the shadow, a mostly hairless primate stands. Only a few white hairs under the chin. A man. The primate notices the awakening. He slowly takes a handful of steps, positioning himself right next to the table, which reached his waist. His head sweeps, making his gaze thoroughly travel through the tied naked body. Multiple times. He leans towards the head, and examines carefully the grey furred face. He frowns. He seems disappointed, but still curious, intrigued by something... By what? The answer to this question, or lack thereof, froze the animal in terror._

_"And this wolf... came in a spacecraft?" The eyes of the man do not leave the canine as he speaks._

_"Indeed."_

_Another primate. A woman, this time. A little bit more hairy. Has short yellow-ish hairs on her head. She comes by the table, across the man._

_"Who knows about this?" he asks._

_"Only us, and the two soldiers who captured it."_

_"Can we trust their silence?"_

_"Please, this station isn't called Secrecy for nothing! Beside, this isn't the weirdest thing they saw, by far. You have no idea what's going on within those walls."_

_The man seems satisfied with the answers. He carries on his visual examination. "Good. It has to stay so. If the government was to find out, I would loose my head. Now, about this wolf..."_

_"Notice anything?"_

_"So far? Well, it has a missing eye and a curious pattern on the fur, but beside that..."_

_"That's what I thought at first. Check the shoulders."_

_The man seizes the wolf's left shoulder. He squeezes, moves, pulls, rubs, manipulates however he can. Incredulity and confusion start appearing on his face._

_"Something's off..." he utters quietly. "... But I can't put my finger on it."_

_"I'll tell you what. This isn't a wolf's shoulder. I suspect this articulation to be as versatile as a human one. The soldiers told me it could move its arms like us."_

_"Really?" He raises an eyebrow. "How peculiar..."_

_"But there's more. I'll fetch something, in the meantime open his mouth and try to look for anything unusual."_

_The man unceremoniously inserts his fingers between the wolf's teeth and opens the maw with ease. The canine cannot resist. Dizzy. Paralysed. Terrified. He tries to clench his jaw, to speak, to growl, but he's too weak, his muscles aren't responding. The woman comes back with a long and thin black cable and a computer, which she put on the poor animal's belly. He turns back to her. "Nothing stands out. Am I missing something?"_

_"As you see, there is nothing to report in the buccal cavity. Let's go deeper, shall we?" She takes the black cable, at the end of which are attached a tiny camera and an equally tiny lamp, and plunges it deep inside the wolf's throat. The contact with the dry oesophagus is painful and panicking, but the canine, deprived of energy, still cannot fight back. Ruthlessly, the cable quivers and snakes, before crossing the larynx and penetrating the trachea. It hurts. Every of his wiggles caused his sore throat so ache even more. The wolf desperately tries to call for help. Cannot. Not enough air._

_"Is that..." The man's face lights up as he watches the computer screen displaying what the camera is seeing. "Are these vocal cords?!"_

_"Indeed these are! Impressive isn't it?" she replies, before withdrawing the camera, eliciting a yelp on the wolf's behalf._

_"Has it spoken? Have you or the soldiers heard anything from it?"_

_"Nothing so far."_

_"Well there's no time to loose. I'm too curious now, I need to know more. Give me the scissors."_

_And then, the nightmare begins._

_Without any warning, the man grabs the skin on the wolf's waist, and plunges the scissors right into the flesh. The intense dolour exhorts a loud and hopeless scream from the animal. His back arches. He stirs in desperation. But the hands of the man are firm, and so are the restraints. The scissors keep moving and cutting the skin on their way, implacable, drowning the lupine into restless pain. Another shout. Tears blur his vision. Short of breath. Panic. Terror. Despair. Just as he inflates his lungs back, the tool pushes once more, ripping through the fur, making him cry again. Ruthless. Crippling. Endless._

_But the torture doesn't stop. The scissors, guided by a steady hand, keep travelling slowly across the belly, inflicting pain on an unprecedented scale. To the wolf, it seems to last for hours, before the primate eventually put the tool aside. The pain abates, but the nightmare is just starting. The man introduces both his hands inside the deep and large wound, seizes the skin, and tears the leaves away from each other and fixes them on the side of the body with clamps, so that the insides of the animal are fully exposed to the artificial light. The canine raises his head, and screamed in terror at the sight of his entrails, of his beating heart, of his lungs inflating and deflating under the panic. Despite the dolour and the desperation, he somehow manages to find enough strength to shout one intelligible sentence._

_"F... FOX!! FOX!! HELP, PLEASE!!"_

_The man suddenly interrupts his operation, and raises his eyes to meet those of the wolf. "Listen! I think he called for his friend Fox! Fox McCloud!"_

_"Oh, you want to talk to Fox, mister O'Donnell?" the woman asks. "You should have said so sooner! He's right here, look!"_

_She plunges her hand in a bag resting on the ground, and takes it out, holding tightly the lifeless head of a fox, separated from its body._

"NOOO!!"

Wolf brutally stood up from his seat, covered in sweat, gasping for air. His members were trembling, his breathing was rapid, his heart drummed furiously in his chest. He stood still, panting, his gaze fixed on the dark cosmic background, unable to process the torrent of thoughts and feelings scrambling in his perturbed mind. All of his muscles and nerves were tensed, all of his senses on high alert, but only the echo of the air flowing between his fangs reached his ears, only the cold emptiness of space was staring back at him, only the odour of the steel tickled his nose. The dolour, however, was still vivid.

He looked around. No humans. No operation table. No blinding light. Nothing. Just a dark cockpit, lighted by sparse diodes and some computer screens. It wasn't real. No one was here to harm him, he was safe, and yet the anxiety and the fear refused to clear off his brain. Was this the real reality, whatever that means? Was the air really here to supply the oxygen he needed? Was the ground really lying to support his weight? Was the window really standing to protect him from the interstellar void? He couldn't help but to feel the dreadful presence of the vicious primates, their malicious intents, their wicked curiosity creeping around, waiting for him to cool down and fall asleep to launch another merciless assault. The absence of sounds wasn't as reassuring as one could hope.

Eventually, his trained soldier's mind succeeded to slow his breathing down and to cool his nerves. He grabbed the chair, finding comfort in this reminder, reminder that the nightmare was over. There weren't restrains on his limbs. His fur wasn't shaved. But the large scar, running from his clavicle down to his waist, was an eternal testimony of his torments, and would forever bring him back those painful moments. The damages on both his body and his mind were permanent. In order to find a source of helpful comfort, he dove into memories involving a certain fox he loved.

"Fox..."

Simply pronouncing his name out loud was enough to grow a smile on the grey face, as it instantaneously brought images, sounds, and scents amongst the most pleasant ones. Smelling his wet fur just after a shower, seeing his orange ears twitching when the lupine teased him, hearing him digress on random and unexpected topics of conversation, ... He preferred not to imagine the turn of events had the vulpine not rescued him. Or even worse, had the vulpine also been captured. He would never be able to pay back a fraction of what Fox brought him. The question his mate asked a while ago suddenly re-emerged: would he sacrifice their love to bring them back in Lylat? Wolf wasn't so sure... By the way, where was the orange twat at?

A quick glance through the window reminded him of the recent events. Of course, he was still taking care of whoever the fuck those guys were. Being caring and helpful towards strangers was part of his character, and the lupine would lie if he was to pretend it wasn't a side of Fox he loved and admired. But still, there were limits. How far would he go? Would he be ready to put his own life at risk for them? Back in Lylat, he wouldn't hesitate, but they were his people, his friends, his family. Those humans never met him, wouldn't remember him, wouldn't pay him back in any way. If Fox doesn't start to watch out for himself, he might lose his head. But it would never happen, since Wolf was here to make sure of that.

His mind having fully embraced tranquillity, he sat back, waiting for the vulpine's return. Fox was alone, on their sick bay or on the primate's carrier, with two of them. Was he safe? Naturally, they didn't seem to look for troubles, but they were still humans. Wolf only met two, that was more than enough. He would gladly come down to stay beside his mate, but the sight of the strangers might make painful memories resurface, and if he looses his temper once more, the vulpine would forever turn his back on him. That being said, a few hours passed since he left, what were they doing?

_If they touch him... If he comes back with just a scratch on his body, just a hair missing from his pristine fur, I'll make sure they'll regret having called us for help..._

He didn't care if he looked over-protective. Fox was his, and he refused to let anything take him away. Should he check in person? Wanting to ensure the vulpine's safety, but not willing to meet any of those primates in person, he settled himself for a compromise: he would wait a few hours more, and if the vulpine's snoot didn't reappear in the meantime, then the humans would meet a much, much less friendly canine. As he was making his best to extinguish his worries, the muffled sound of footsteps echoing beyond the entrance of the cockpit interrupted his ruminations.

"Fox? Is that you?"

No voice replied. As the steps got closer, he realized those weren't Fox's. The orange canine, like him, was walking barefoot, and the sound of shoes hitting the floor could distinguishably be heard. It was one of them.

" _Whoever you are, get the fuck away, you're not supposed to be here!_ "

But the primate didn't stop. On the contrary, every step sounded closer than its predecessor. Wolf took out his blaster and aimed at the entrance of the cockpit. " _I'm armed and I'll shoot on sight! So you better... oh..._ "

The grey canine froze when on the threshold appeared a... tiny, tiny human, barely reaching the lupine's knees. The weapon was still pointed at him, however Wolf couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. But why? A closer look revealed the answer. The clumsy gait, the immaculate skin, and the curious eyes sweeping all around left no room for doubt: it was a child, possibly not even old enough to talk properly. When his gaze settled on the taller mammal, his eyes widened in joy and a cheerful grin appeared on his face as he opened his arms and rushed towards the lupine.

" _Kiwi_ _!_ "

Wolf wanted to push him away, but his mind refused to let him act violently towards such a young and innocent being. He had no choice but to let the toddler hug his furred leg, and to bring his gun down. Something broke down inside his mind. All this time, he always assumed that all humans were as cruel and wicked as the two who tortured him, and even if a part of him knew it wasn't an accurate description of reality, it didn't prevent him from treating all of them as such. But this unexpected encounter acted like a match which ignited a fire, a fire that started burning this image down to ashes. All it took was a hug by a child.

_A kid... It's just a kid..._

The more the little primate hold his leg, the more his apprehension towards this specie melted. Although he could slaughter any of them without the single remorse, this particular child was different. He was ignorant, innocent, welcoming. If Wolf was honest with himself, he would admit that his grip was rather comforting. After a while, once the astonishment evaporated, an uncomfortable feeling grew in the lupine's head. Naturally, the primate was friendly, but that doesn't mean they were instantly buddies.

" _Could you please let go,_ _little one_ _?_ "

" _Looks like someone_ _made_ _a_ _new_ _friend!_ "

Wolf startled when he heard a voice he recognised. The woman with long brown hairs was standing on the threshold, watching the scene with visible amusement. The sight of an adult reignited a remanent of the lupine's hate and fear.

" _You shouldn't be here! I'm not his friend, tell him to let go!_ " Wolf growled sharply.

" _Of course, my apolog_ _y_ _, I didn't mean to bother you!_ " To the lupine's tone, amusement left the woman's face to be replaced with seriousness. " _Come on, Bryan, leave the gentleman's leg_ _._ "

" _Mama! Kiwi!_ " the toddler replied whilst pointing at the canine whose leg he was holding.

" _No,_ _he_ _'s not Kiwi!_ _He_ _'s a wolf who wants you to leave his leg. Come here._ "

The kid eventually complied, and as he was running back to his mother, Wolf couldn't stop a question from popping in his mind. " _Who... Who's Kiwi?_ "

" _It was our p... a friend of his. A dog, but_ _he_ _had the overall aspect of a wolf. He and Bryan were very close, they used to spend their whole days of summer together_ _,_ _before we had to flee._ "

" _Was?_ "

" _U_ _nfortunately... he died during our escape..._ "

" _Oh... And he misses him?_ "

" _Dearly._ " She picked up her child. " _You look like him, kinda. I think that's why he likes you_ _!_ "

" _I see..._ "

The warm gaze and the soothing smile of the child turned to the grey canine once more, as to support the claim of his mother. The conversation he just had hit him like a train, the contrast with his preconception of humans and the current interaction being too brutal to let him unperturbed. The picture of canines and humans being friendly was diametrically opposed to his own experience, and he had great troubles to accept this as reality. But somehow, it felt right.

_So you were friend with someone like me, little one?_

The atmosphere seemed to have cooled down. Wolf was still holding his weapon, but it was clear to the woman that he didn't intend to use it anytime soon. Although she remembered the warning of the fox, who explicitly told her not to wander in this part of the spacecraft, she decided to make an attempt in befriending the lupine.

" _I'm Laura – I suggest we skip to the usage of first names already. You're Wolf, aren't you?_ "

" _I am_ _..._ "

" _Your friend Fox is with us,_ _o_ _n our ship. Wanna_ _join_ _?_ "

" _Maybe lat... oh..._ "

The light darkened around the canine, whose vision began to blur. Running out of air, his breathing went louder, faster, as a sharp pain seized his meninges, forcing him to shove his head in his paws. His limbs trembled, his legs staggered. The world was reshaping itself, the walls and the ground were changing, to turn into an environment the lupine knew too well. The scent, the walls, the lone blinding light... He was back in the torture chamber. Panic invaded his mind as his heart was racing in his chest. He felt the adrenaline being pumped in his veins. He tried to reach for help, to no avail. When he looked up, he saw a primate.

A primate he was desperate never to meet again. Laura was metamorphosing into another woman, with shorter hair, yellow-ish... No, not her, not here, not again! Wolf shook his head, seeking to make the hallucination fade away, yet the torturer was still planted in front of him, her face torn by a vicious smile, her eyes full of a wicked and morbid curiosity. The lupine yelped in terror when he saw the scars reappear on his shaved fur. His heart hammered faster, as he was on the verge of hyperventilating. The shaking. The fear. The desperation. It came back, as his sore mind was overwhelmed by the painful memories, preventing his brain from processing the influx of informations correctly. He needed to get out.

Suddenly, Wolf remembered he was still holding a blaster in his right paw. He could do something to make the nightmare end, this time. He had a way of defending himself. A quick gesture and...

_No! Wolf, this isn't her! They're innocent! Control yourself, don't do anything stupid! She... She's holding a child, for fuck's sake!_

" _Wolf? Is everything alright?_ "

The lupine shook his head, squeezed his eyes, clenched his teeth, but the illusion persisted. An unfortunate accident was about to happen if the three of them stayed in the room any longer. " _Go... Go away..._ " he whispered between his fangs.

" _You seem to b-_ "

Wolf aimed at the primates with his blaster. " _I said leave! Now!_ "

A gasp of shock and surprise escaped from the mother, before she promptly complied and disappeared from the lupine's sight, her child in her arms. Wolf mobilized all of his brain cells to concentrate, to ignore the illusion created by his damaged mind, to overcome the crippling fear and despair. He clenched his jaws on one of his fingers, using the generated pain to differentiate between dream and reality. He closed his eyes, covered his pointy ears, and hold his breath, isolating himself from all forms of external stimuli. The aloneness of the lupine eased his return in the real world, as the chamber gradually faded away to be replaced by the familiar cockpit.

Eventually, the effect of the seizure waned, allowing his brain to recover a normal functioning. However, simmering down would take a few additional minutes. Whilst he sensed his heart and his lungs embracing their normal rhythm, the terrified face of the woman persisted before his eye. It wasn't her fault, it was for their safety that he expelled them. He wished he had told them about his true intents. But all what they saw was an angry wolf threatening to kill them as they trespassed on his territory. Now, they were probably afraid of him, justifiably...

* * *

" _This is absolutely amazing!_ "

Fox was comfortably seated at the end of a large table, inside a room almost as voluminous as his own spacecraft. The heavy and superfluous decoration on the wall gave the impression of travelling in a distant past, back when space travel hasn't been invented yet, and multiples bars and stages imposed their presences, reminding any observer that the purpose of this room is to have fun. An attentive and curious eye could also distinguish various installations ranging to disco equipment to screen projectors. A gigantic window offered an incomparable view on the cosmos. This spaceship was conceived for enjoyment and comfort, the complete opposite of the canine's spacecraft, made for war. A conversation with his host informed the vulpine that this was a cruise ship, and was built as such.

In front of him, a human, male with red hairs on the head and on the chin (Fox learned it is called a beard), covered in wounds and bandages, was in pure excitement, shouting every of his sentences like a child, unable to contain his energy. Now that he had mostly recovered from his injuries, he and the vulpine spent the last hour discussing, exchanging as many informations about their respective worlds as they could. Of the two mammals, only one was overwhelmed with excitement, to the point where he felt the need to stand up and pace around to help him process the current turn of events.

" _This is amazing!_ " the human repeated. " _This is... insane! Extraordinary! Incredible! I can't find the_ _proper_ _word... Historical! This is Historical, with a big H! I,_ _Vincent Watts, shall forever be remembered as the first human to_ _interact with an extraterrestrial intelligence! No, not extraterrestrial... extragalactic! This is... We are making History, mister Fox!_ "

 _Yeah... someone's ego needs to deflate a bit..._ Fox thought. " _I don't see what the fuss is all about._ " he replied. " _I used to see people from_ _different_ _species daily, it ain't a big deal_ _._ "

" _No, you don't understand._ " Vincent sat down, and accompanied his explanations with gestures whose exact significations would be an everlasting mystery to the vulpine. " _When we started to colonize the stars, we were desperate to meet... anybody. To know for sure if we were alone or not! But after two millennia of careful search, you know what we found?_ "

The orange canine shrugged.

" _Bacteria!_ " the human continued. " _We search_ _ed_ _meticulously_ _every_ _habitable_ _planet_ _, striving to find any form of life_ _, and our only reward were a handful of p_ _rimitive, boring, useless_ _species of_ _bacteria, and that's it!_ _And bacteria suck, mister Fox! Nobody cares about them! Well, except some biologists who want to show off, but beside that they suck! Have you ever wondered why almost all planets are populated with the same species? Because we brought them with us._

 _"_ _And yet, here you are! You and your friend are the answer! The answer to: are we alone in the universe! You have no idea what it means for us!_ "

Excitement regained the control of the human's body, whilst Fox silently giggled, puzzled and amused by this specie's strange mentality.

" _Intelligent life... Intergalactic travel... This is my chance to go down in history books. I must note the date. No, I must record! No, I must take a picture! Aaargh, I must do everything! We have to f-_ "

" _I think we have other priorities beside your dream of_ _fame_ _, Vince._ " Laura's voice interrupted his husband's rambling, as she entered holding a child in her arms. " _I f_ _ound him!_ _Bryan_ _was just exploring_ _our rescuer's_ _spacecraft._ "

" _Here's where the little adventurer was at!_ " the father exclaimed.

" _I wonder how did_ _he_ _to get lost, our ship is sm..._ " Fox began to reply, before his orange ears rose up and his heart skipped a beat. " _Wait a minute... You're just returning from our ship?_ "

" _Yes, we just came back_ _, and... we_ _ran_ _into your fella._ " Her lugubrious face as she finished her sentence was loaded with subtext.

 _Oh no no no!_ the vulpine thought, as stress began to grow inside him _._ He abruptly got up from his seat and paced towards the woman, startling her in the process. " _I told you to avoid him! What happened?! Are you hurt?!_ "

" _Hey Fox,_ _chill_ _out_ _a bit_ _, we're fine!_ " She put her child back on the floor, whilst gesturing at the vulpine to calm down. " _He didn't touch any of us._ _T_ _hat being said... I confess_ _his behaviour_ _scared_ _me..._ "

" _Listen, I_ _know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but trust me, to me and him, it is. I need to know exactly what happened._ "

Laura proceeded to retell the interaction in great details, which didn't take much time given its brevity. Fox was relieved to see that no effusion of blood took place (which was the worst case scenario in his mind), but couldn't help to feel bad for his mate. Obviously, the very sight of humans was painful to him.

" _What's his problem anyway?_ " the woman inquired. " _All along he looked at me like if I was going to slice his throat._ "

" _It's not your fault._ _H_ _is first contact with humans turned out really, really bad._ "

The man joined the discussion. " _Oh shit... What happened?_ "

" _I can't tell you more. Just know that h_ _e's a good buddy, he was deeply traumatized, and he can't get over it... probably never will._ _It's best if you_ _simply_ _leave him alone_ "

Since the incident caused no further damage, the three of them decided to let the subject die. To move on, the vulpine strove to learn more about his hosts. " _But one detail still confuses me..._ " Fox sat back across the couple. " _Who were those chasers after you?_ "

" _They were hunting us down since we flew from Finstellis._ "

" _But why?_ "

" _Come on..._ " Vincent raised his hands in the air, as if the answer to this question was blatantly obvious. " _Wait... You never heard of me? Or of Finstellis?_ "

" _Have you forgotten I'm not from this galaxy?_ " Fox grinned.

" _Beside, I think you greatly overestimate your popularity outside Finstellis, Vince. Most people_ _within the Milky Way_ _don't know who you are_ _, so don't expect him to!_ "

" _What? But I was a major political fig... Whatever._ " he sighed and turned to the canine, discarding his disappointment. " _Well, since you never heard_ _of_ _my splendid home world, let me offer you a quick history lesson._

" _A few hundreds years ago, a group of elite scientists from the Inner Federation, disappointed by the policies regarding research and education, conceived an insane but revolutionary project: to settle a colony, ruled by scientists, and entirely dedicated to the advancement of human knowledge. No army, no politician_ _s_ _, nothing of the sort._ _Finstellis: a_ _planet governed by science, for science!_

" _So far, it turned out prodigiously well. We were the pinnacle of human civilization, our universities were the best, and by far! Our state-of-the-art installations outmatched everything else, nobody in the entire galaxy could compete with us!_

" _Now to me. I am Vincent Watts, Head of the Governing Body. The leader of an entire planet, for sure, but a scientist first and foremost – I'm a mathematician, in case you wonder. So far, despite our lack of army, we managed to ensure our safety by maintaining good relations with everyone, and by counting on the support of the Inner Federation._

" _Unfortunately, this was too good to_ _go on forever_ _. As the Inner Federation kept loosing its power and influence, our neighbourhood began to sink in chaos. Cheap and shabby self-proclaimed warlords started to multiply, and to conquer whatever planet they could with whatever army they managed to subjugate, before being overthrown and killed by another_ _equally_ _cheap and shabby warlord._

" _It was only a matter of time before we sank too, but it happened faster than we could_ _anticipate_ _. We were smart, and our technology was unrivalled, but it doesn't matter when the opponent – he calls himself Dux Bellorum, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what it means – has an entire fleet of frigates and destroyers, and you don't even own a slingshot..._

" _You can guess the rest. In a single day, he obliterated our defences, captured the planet, and imprisoned the entire Governing Body. Only I and my family managed to escape, in this cruise ship. We were trying to reach Igel, the capital of the Inner Federation, to beg for_ _assistance,_ _when those chasers traced us back. And then, you arrived._ "

A brief silence followed, allowing the vulpine to process those informations. " _And this mister Bellorum, what about him?_ " he asked.

" _No, Dux Bellorum is a title in Latin he gave himself because he thinks it makes him look cool_ _, but he's just as pathetic as_ _the_ _others. I bet he'll be dead by the end of the month, but_ _in the meantime_ _he will keep damaging the beautiful utopia we strove to build._ _His real name is unknown to me_ _. Before that, he went by the nickname The Wolf of Compor._ "

" _Oh, he's a wolf too?_ "

Vincent raised an eyebrow. " _What?! Of course n... Oh, I see. No, it's just a nickname. He's a human like me._ "

" _But... he looks like a wolf?_ "

" _... Neither..._ "

Puzzled, Fox frowned in confusion. " _Then why the nickname?_ "

The human signed and rolled his eyes. " _Forget that detail, it would be too complicated to explain. Let's just say it's a human thing to do._ _See, when..._ "

He stopped mid-sentence. Surprised by his interruption, the vulpine waited a while for him to pursue, before he noticed that Vincent wasn't looking at him anymore, but at something standing behind him. Someone, actually. Indeed, when Fox turned back, his eyes widened in relief and joy at the sight of a familiar lupine, standing silently at the other end of the table. His lone eye went back and forth between the primates and the orange canine, and his ears were flattened, betraying his discomfort. Nothing in his attitude, however, pointed towards hostile intents. An uncomfortable silence settled, during which none of the four mammals dared to take the initiative. Eventually, Fox left his chair, and ran towards his lover.

"Wolf! You came!"

The primates exchanged a confused look, hearing a language alike none they ever heard. Fox gave the lupine a firm hug, rubbing his muzzle in the hollow of his neck. Immediately, Wolf's ears perked up and his nerves eased off at the touch of the orange fur, as he caught himself wrapping his arms round his mate.

"Are you alright?" Anguish was visible on the vulpine's face. "I've heard something went wrong."

"I'm fine, I'm fine..." he replied quietly.

Fox patted his shoulder and maintained the eye contact, to ensure the lupine's comfort. "You wanna join us? They're nice, you'll see, they don't bite."

"Okay, but... Could you stay beside me? That'd help..."

"Of course, just follow me."

The vulpine kept a paw on his shoulder, whilst guiding Wolf towards the table, across the other couple. The man seemed welcoming, but her wife's eyes were packed with diffidence and apprehension, even though she strove to appear neutral. When meeting her glance, the lupine couldn't help but to lower his ears, his heart filled partly with shame, partly with mistrust. Once the four mammals were close enough, the atmosphere tensed up, and Fox and Vincent realized cooling it down was up to them.

" _Wolf, this is Vincent, and Laura. Vincent, Laura, this is my_ _space_ _buddy Wolf._ "

" _Yeah..._ " the woman began, on her guard. " _We've met already, haven't we?_ "

" _I... wanted to apologize_ _... for my reaction._ "

A shadow of relief seemed to pass over Laura's face. " _It's alright. Your friend told us._ "

" _Oh?_ " he turned to Fox. "What did you tell them?"

"That you had a bad experience with humans, that's all. I gave no details."

" _Well!_ " the man suddenly exclaimed. " _It's a privilege to finally meet you, Wolf!_ "

He extended a hand he hoped the grey canine would grab and shake. However, Wolf didn't react as expected. He made a sudden jump back and growled loudly, exposing two white rows of sharp teeth as his ears were once more pinned against his head, which scared the primates, gasping in surprise.

"Wolf, relax, he meant no harm!" Fox said as he grabbed his shoulders. "It's a tradition by them, that's how they greet each other!"

Around the table, three of the four mammals were on edge. The grey lips covered the teeth back, but the lupine's body was still tensed. He could hear blood being pumped in his ears. Fox whispered him to take a break, before joining the primates and inviting them to come closer, so that he could talk to them in private.

" _Listen_ _, I need you to do something._ " he murmured. " _Please, be personable and indulgent with him, he went through a lot. I know he looks dangerous, but trust me, he isn't_ _._ _H_ _e's just terrified, even if he_ _'ll never_ _admit it._ "

" _My experience is that wolves are dangerous_ because _they're terrified..._ " Laura commented, her eyes locked in suspiciousness on the lupine.

" _Hey, we just saved your asses, that's the least you can do!_ _I'm not asking for much!_ "

" _Fox's right, honey. He's our guest, we ought to welcome him and treat him as such._ " The man spoke, calmly and welcomingly, at the lupine. " _Yo_ _u have nothing to fear_ _from us, mister Wolf! If you wanna leave, go ahead. However, I was looking forward_ _s_ _to know more about you, so it would be an honour_ _should_ _you choose to stay among_ _st_ _us._ "

The lupine went back at the table, slowly and carefully, his eye and his ears constantly scanning his surroundings. Not that he suspected some unknown danger to appear through the wall, he simply needed the reassurance it provided him. He went at the side of his companion, facing the primates, and took a seat. During the long silence that followed, Wolf endeavoured to accustom himself to the presence of humans, convincing himself that those were quiet friendly, after all. Unbeknownst to the primates, he grabbed the paw of his lover under the table, to fight a slight sensation of threat and danger that persisted in his mind. Fox tightened his grip, to remind him he would always be there for him, no matter what.

Once the atmosphere had cooled down, Wolf figured him making the first step would greatly soothe the contact. He extended his grey paw towards the man, who took some time to understand what was the canine attempting. He grew a smile from ears to ears, gently grabbed the paw, and briefly shook it up and down, making sure to avoid any sudden movement.

" _Your friend told many things about you_ _, Wolf_ _!_ _It's an honour to meet you!_ "

" _Er... Likewise._ "

The lupine repeated the operation with the woman, who seemed inclined to accept his apology. But one could see in her face and movements that the mistrust Wolf caused would be a tough one to overcome. The grey canine felt a sudden grip on his tail. When he looked back, he saw the child playing with the grey hairs.

" _Bryan! Drop the wolf's tail!_ " Laura injucted.

" _No, it's all right, as long as he doesn't pull the hairs._ " Wolf smirked, much to the primate's surprise, to which Bryan replied with a short laugh. The total lack of animosity towards the toddler was quite uncanny, even to the lupine. _You get a free pass, little one_ , he thought.

" _There's one thing I wanted to ask you, Wolf. During a full moon, do you turn into a human?_ " Vincent's question was followed by a quiet giggle on his behalf, and his wife cracked a smile, but the canines were completely lost, as indicated by their confused look. The man waved his hand. " _You wouldn't get it anyway._ "

* * *

What was supposed to be a ten minutes conversation turned into a multiple hours long exchange between the four mammals. Well, three, since Wolf kept his maw sealed most of the time, and simply let his ears swivel to follow the voice of the current interlocutor. From time to time, when he felt fear knocking on his mind's door and his heart speeding up again, he would seize the paw of his mate under the table, and draw upon the comfort offered by the vulpine's gentle squeeze. Few glances were exchanged, since odours were enough for the canines to inform them about their partner's state and emotions. It was a surprise to them to observe how insensitive the sense of smell of their hosts was, as the humans seemed to notice none of the scents hanging in the air and to rely solely on their sight and hearing.

If at first, gathering the countless differences between their respective home worlds was the major topic of discussion, it quickly shifted to everything and anything, up to what kind of alcohol they used to drink. When the man went and get an assortment of various liquors, the lupine, appalled by the smell of gasoline that emanated from the bottles, ended up being grateful for the fact that his ship, like all warships, carried none of those craps. He didn't mind hard liquor, but that was to close to pure ethanol. As the humans went back at talking about their escape, since Wolf needed a quick recap, a small detail hold his attention.

" _But why this Dux guy doesn't simply banish the Governing Body? Why keep them?_ " the lupine wondered.

" _Simple._ " Vincent replied. " _He want_ _s_ _to prevent us from reaching Igel, and to come back with_ _reinforcements_ _._ "

Fox had a further query. " _You think the guys at Igel will agree to help?_ "

" _Nothing is more uncertain. See, if I show up alone, I don't think they will take me seriously. I even fear that they don't know what's going on so far away from their sector._ " He sighed and looked away, a shadow of faithlessness darkening his eyes. " _I really needed the whole Body at my side. On my own, I don't know what I could achieve..._ "

" _Have you considered getting them back?_ "

The man let out a joyless chuckle. " _I know were they're locked, and trust me, there's now way I break them out_ _. Even with the best plan possible, I would still need fighters, capable of..._ "

He stopped halfway, his eyes suddenly widened and his gaze bouncing between the canines, as his train of thought was instantly replaced by an idea. " _No... No, I can't ask for this..._ " he mumbled for himself. " _And yet..._ "

" _What's the matter?_ " Fox asked.

" _And yet... I think it's my only chance..._ "

" _What are you talking about?_ "

Vincent rose up and walked in circle, under the confused frowns of the two canines. He would sometimes stop, stare at the canine, talk in his beard, and pursue his ruminations, and it seemed the woman was just as puzzled as her two guests by his strange behaviour. Eventually, he regained his seat, and spoke solemnly, prudent in his choice of words.

" _Listen... Undoubtedly, we owe you our lives, and we will forever be in debt. So I know that what I'm about to demand is inappropriate, and it would be perfectly understandable should you decline. But I fear this is our only hope of restoring Finstellis before it's too late, so I have to ask._ "

" _You want us to help you break the rest of the Body out?_ "

The vulpine's guess was on target, as confirmed by a slight nod from the man. Fox didn't have the time to formulate an answer before his grey mate grabbed firmly his shoulder.

"Fox. A word. Now." Wolf left his seat and moved towards the other end of the room, inviting the orange canine to follow him. Once they were at a safe distance, the lupine plunged his eye into the green ones. "Please, tell me you're not thinking about accepting."

The silence and the low glare of the vulpine were as eloquent as a straight answer.

"Okay, Fox, we have to talk about this."

"About what?"

"How can you even consider going this far? I was okay with helping them fight, and letting them use our sick bay. But this is a step beyond! Sure, you feel bad abandoning people, I get it, but risking your life for this, that's ludicrous!"

As a response, the orange ears lowered, along with the green eyes.

"I refuse to believe you're doing this just because you feel bad for them." Wolf continued. "I think your problem isn't them, but you. There is something else, right?" The lupine left some times for his mate to prepare his answer. It was obvious to him that he was hitting a sensitive spot.

"I... Wolf, I'm not sure how to break this to you, but I can't stand our routine anymore. Yes, I would be ready to put our lives at risk. Just to... do something. Anything else than languishing in this damn tin can. I need some action to occupy my mind, to forget the shit in which we're in, to..."

A lump in the vulpine's throat prevented him from finishing his thoughts. Upon seeing his lover's uneasiness and discomfort, Wolf took him in his arms, hoping to restore the sense of reality of Fox.

"I'm sorry to inflict this upon you." The grey canine calmly whispered as he broke the hug, and hold with both paws the orange head. "We'll think of something, alright? Maybe another vacation time, or whatever, but please Fox, I'm appealing to your reason. Don't jeopardize our lives over this. This problem isn't ours."

"You... You're right, I'm sorry. I've forgotten you were in this with me." He took a deep breath. "I simply n-"

" _If you help us w_ _e might be able to send you home!_ "

Vincent's words fell on them like a cinder block, abruptly interrupting their discussion. Three wide eyes and four ears instantaneously turned towards the man. As to let the time for the furred duo to realize the extent of his words, he paused a bit, getting closer to them all the while.

" _I've just thought about something. As I said, the members of the Governing Body all are top class scientists, the crème de la crème of Finstellis, and by extension, of the whole Milky Way. One of them was specialized in astrophysics, and is by far the most brilliant woman I know. If there is anybody in this galaxy who might know about the phenomenon that brought you here, and maybe how to send you back, it can only be her._ "

Two tails started to sweep in the air, as their respective owners exchanged a glare full of a long-gone hope and excitement, which the man did not fail to catch. However, uncertainty was still looming over them, but Vincent had a trump card to play.

" _Beside, I think I_ _figured out_ _how to break in the prison_ _, with your help of course_ _._ "

" _You mean you_ _have a plan?_ " Fox asked.

" _I_ _have_ _. But there is one_ _major_ _downside, though._ "

" _Which is?_ "

" _You_ _'_ _ll abhor_ _this plan_ _._ _Vehemently_ _._ "


	9. The tower

"This is mortifying."

Wolf had barely finished his complaining when the unexpected arrival of a myriad of grains of sand, carried by the wind, onto his tongue made him spit and splutter, which did not fail to coax a silent sneer on his orange mate's behalf, walking along him. Since the canines had landed in the desert blanketing the prison planet, they had to permanently squint both their eyes to forestall the chafing of their ocular globes, for the blind eye of the lupine was still sensitive. Alas, the ochreous particles of dust did not spare their furs, devoid of all sorts of clothing, now soaked in sand and dirt. Despite this major inconvenience, the visibility was clear enough to reveal the monochromatic desert spreading out up to the distant horizon.

"Bloody sand!" The lupine rudely swept his paws on his thick pelt, struggling to remove a few grains amongst the thousands that now dwelt under the grey hairs. "Even Titania isn't that dedicated to piss you off!"

"Well..." Fox put a paw before his snout as he replied, smothering his words, but discharging him from the necessity to deal with specks trespassing his buccal cavity. "... don't you think it's because we never went on Titania naked?"

The vulpine kept his squinted eyes on his long shadow, stretching ahead of him. In such a shapeless and monotone landscape, only the sun was there to serve as a reference point. Soon, their destination would arise from the horizon, but until then, keeping track of their shadows was required to avoid wandering in circle.

"I reiterate-" Another sudden assault of grains interrupted the grey canine, wrestling once again with the intrusion, under the amused emerald eyes. He'd better take the habit of covering his muzzle before speaking if he wanted to prevent this unharmful yet nerve-wracking incident. "I reiterate my words: this is humiliating."

"C'mon Wolfy, we've seen each other's birthday suit already, what's the big deal?"

"It's not just being naked!" Around the canines, only the smooth sound of the sand-sweeping wind accompanied their paw-muffled voices. "The lack of clothes is the least of my concerns. It's just... the task itself, as a whole. To pretend we're just wild animals, in front of them... This is demeaning."

Fox momentarily paused his gait, rose a leg, and twitched his toes to dislodge an unwelcome pebble. "Since when do you care about what they think? They're not your boss' nephews or something."

"It matters to me to cultivate my image even for my enemies; _especially_ for my enemies!" His lone eye scoured the surrounding landscape, cursing himself for the soup he was in. "A great warrior must be feared, for sure, but respected nonetheless."

"Really? Then why is it that to me, you were just a dick?" Fox ventured a glimpse towards his mate, as if the sight of the struggle of the lupine against the wind and the sand would ease his own. "When we used to be enemies, I mean."

"But an honourable dick! Our fights were fair, I never cheated, and I never chased you to death when you ejected." One of his grey fingers was pointed upwards, as to support his remark.

Fox pondered whilst they went down the dune they were climbing. "No, just a dick."

"Hey, you're being rude!" The stifling paw and the encompassing wind distorted Wolf's intonation, so that the vulpine couldn't discern if the lupine was being offended by his answer, or simply raising his voice to compensate the wailing of the breeze. "Most mercenaries wouldn't bother stabbing their own mother in the back. Think about Pigma! You can't possibly have put me in the same basket!"

"Pigma and others alike are ultra dick, and you were just a regular dick, but still a dick." His scornful grin was supposed to endorse his mockery, but with his paw covering his mouth, his scoffing sounded way too much like a mere insult. "What I meant is... Wolfy?"

Fox turned to his lover, only to see him standing immobile, his gaze locked somewhere on the horizon. As the vulpine went beside him, Wolf raised his finger forwards. "Look, over there."

It took the orange canine quite a while for his gaze to settle on the lupine's object of interest. A minuscule black dot perked up just above the horizon. He had to blink and squint to confirm his vision, and to ensure he wasn't the victim of some illusion. In the distance, the black dot stood still, unperturbed by their gawks, just like the wind around them. "Is that the tower?" Wolf asked.

"Given our pace and the time we've been walking, I think yes." To make sure the grey canine wouldn't misinterpret his following remark, he put a paw on his shoulder, plunged his playful eyes into the crimson one, and grew a playful and toothy grin. "You know what it means, Wolfy!"

"Yes. From now on, they can see us, so..." His rolling eyes and languishing voice betrayed his exasperation and his self-inducted shame, as Fox went down on all fours, dispatching his weight equally amongst his four legs. Wolf followed, albeit reluctantly. "This is the worst part. Walking naked is one thing, but walking naked _on four feet_? I've never sunk so low."

"It sure is unsettling at first." Fox briefly stomped on the sand and shimmied his back, to accommodate himself to his new posture he would have to keep until they would have reached the black tower. "But once you get the hang of it it's alright." He made a few steps, drawing a coarse circle around the grey canine. Wolf performed exercises akin to these, unhinged by the unthinkable gait the canines were forced to adopt in order to melt themselves amongst the regular wild animals populating the planet. Once they were in condition to resume their journey, Fox took the lead. "Let's move. The sooner the better."

The lupine tailed his mate, using the orange body to partially block the stream of flying eye-poking grains of sand, striving to swallow his pride and not to imagine his teammates alongside. Their reaction would go to pure shock to absolute hilarity, for his own dreadful boss naked pretending to be a wild beast surely isn't something one witnesses everyday. In spite of their absence, Wolf could almost hear their mocking laugh and taunting remarks amidst the whispering of the breeze, see their fear and respect melting like ice under sunlight. Naturally he missed them, but this time, exceptionally, he thanked the universe for not putting them around him.

Fox stretched his neck to have a gander behind him. "You make a very fine wild wolf!" he threw at his companion, as if he was aware of the lupine's thoughts.

Wolf would have replied with a middle finger if his stance allowed him to. Instead, he settled for a threatening growl, eliciting a frank giggle from the vulpine. The grey canine immediately soothed himself. That orange twat was too cute to be mad at. As they continued sweeping between the dunes, the black dot progressively gained height, unveiling metres by metres the massive black construction, sole entrance to the underground prison that was the canine's objective.

The prison consisted of a wide network of undergrounds tunnels, snaking under the surface like ants building their hill. The planet's crust, dense, cold and rich in varieties of metal, required, to be bored, an equipment far too heavy to go unnoticed, so no battlement was needed. Thus, a two hundreds metres tall tower, black as coal, was the one and only entrance to the underneath galleries. At its top, guards were permanently posted, and their viewpoint gave their sight access to a large radius around them. One would be spotted kilometres before reaching the base, and would be obliterated accordingly, rendering stealth obsolete... for humans, at least.

Indeed, different varieties of mammals, including canines, populated the area, some of them adventurous enough to risk themselves near the artificial installation. If it would be almost impossible for humans to approach the construction, the same cannot be said about other species, since jackals and coyotes were commonly gambolling around. In such environment, Wolf and Fox would be undistinguishable from their savage peers, hence the necessity not to be seen on two feet by the guards. Their course of action was fairly simple: approach the entrance, examine it thoroughly from every angle, memorise the guards' patrols, optionally find an alternative way in, and return to Vincent, who made sure to land far enough not to be detected.

As the canines continued their expedition towards the distant building, which had become their new reference point, the one-eyed lupine noticed, coming from the side, another wolf, hopping and hurling loads of sand in the air in its track as it ran towards them. It quickly became obvious to Wolf that it was them the newcomer was aiming at, and that in no time it would be within hearing distance. He fastened his pace to reach his orange mate's side, before drawing his attention to their visitor. Upon noticing the animal, Fox jumped back and pinned his ears, his gasp and panicked eyes awakening the protective instinct of Wolf.

"No, not again!" The vulpine strove, with great difficulty, to keep his four trembling paws on the ground. "I cannot... We must-"

"Relax, Foxy." Wolf took a stand before his mate and faced the stranger, ready to growl and reveal his sharp teeth, preparing himself for a possible gory fight. "Stay behind me, I got this. It won't touch a single hair of yours."

As the shivering orange canine took refuge behind the lupine, Wolf kept observing the newcomer. Nothing in its gait pointed towards hostile intent, on the contrary. I actually seemed that the coming wolf ensured to be seen. The loose tail drawing circles in the air and the dangling tongue slapping left and right couldn't be less menacing. As it got closer, Wolf perceived minor details, and realized it was actually a she-wolf that was bouncing her way in their direction. Although language conventions amongst wolves were vastly different in Lylat and in the Milky Way, the lupine felt reasonable to deduce she meant no harm. But in this case, why did she come?

"She's not here to hunt or fight."

"She?" Fox's head peeked from behind the lupine's rear. "Are you sure?"

Wolf kept his eye locked at the coming canine. "You think there are only male wolves in this galaxy?"

"Not that, dummy. Are you sure she won't chase us? I'm not exactly in the mood for another sprint." The vulpine felt his nerves unwind, but kept his senses on high alert.

"A wolf would never attack on its own, especially considering there's two of us." Wolf loosened his lips and raised his tail, showing the other lupine she had his attention. "But she won't leave us alone as long as she hasn't gotten what she wants."

Fox exited his hideout and hesitantly brought himself next to his mate. "And what does she want?"

"Guess we're about to find out." Had Wolf spoken truthfully, he would have mentioned he had a pretty good idea. After all, when a wild she-wolf approaches a male, usually, it's not to ask where the post office is.

Only a dozen of metres lied between the duo and the newcomer. Letting his instinct guide him, Wolf stuck out his chest, and made his way, slowly and regally, towards the she-wolf, carefully observing her all along, and responding appropriately to each of her moves. Fox simply watched his companion greeting the wild wolf, unable to fully dampen his heartbeat and slacken himself. The Lylatian was a tad bigger, so the odds weren't in her favour should a fight break out, yet the vulpine maintained his vigilance. The wolves ended up a few muzzles away from each other, and continued progressing, before Wolf brought his snout forwards, expecting the feeling of the newcomer's breath as they would sniff each other's scent when...

The she-wolf slightly veered off course and averted the lupine, walking past him without even bothering to keep her tail from sloppily brushing his face, high-hating with as much condescension as a queen would show a beggar. The grey male followed her with his lone reproachful eye, only to see her heading towards... towards Fox? Really?! He sniffed the air, catching faint tracks of the female's odour, and confirming his suspicion. Of the two males she potentially had at her disposal, she settled herself for the one that was _not_ a wolf?! For the one with whom she could _not_ start a pack?! Not that the Star Wolf leader was interested in any kind of intercourse, but still, it was indubitably humiliating to be rebuffed for an incompatible mate, whether he would've agreed or not.

The she-wolf continued on her trajectory, shrinking the distance between her and a distrustful fox. Wolf could make her skedaddle in no time, but on second thought, the incoming interaction was likely to bring its load of surprise and hilarity. "Let her come closer, she won't bite." he reassured.

The female stopped a few centimetres away from the snout of a vulpine both confused and clueless as to what he should do or expect. There was no fear in his emerald eyes, but not a single hint of trust either.

"Ma'am, could you- HEY!" he exclaimed and recoiled as her tongue briefly and suddenly stroked his cheek. "Shoo! Shoo! Back off! Crap, why can't she understand a thing?"

"I think it's because of your accent." Wolf bantered, unable to hide his amusement.

The wild wolf tried to nibble further, before hopping around her chosen mate, puzzled by his total lack of interest. "What's her deal?" Fox asked.

The grey male wiggled his eyebrows. "Foxy, I think you know what she wants."

"I don't know... To play, or something like that?" The female kept bouncing playfully and rubbing her head on the orange fur, occasionally whining to attract the male's attention.

The lupine guffawed. "Fox, she wants to bear your pups."

The green eyes widened. "What?!"

"She wants the D."

"I got it, but-"

"To _shag_!"

"I said I got it!" With that piece of information in mind, Fox watched the wolf's stomping and puffing with a completely different hindsight. "Well tell her I'm not interested, please!"

Seeing Fox scrambling in his attempt to push the newcomer away, whilst the wolf in heat kept yelping and hopping around, surely was a droll show, to the point Wolf struggled to contain his laughter. "Sure? Not up for a three-way?" he jested with a grin, always in the mood for pushing the joke further.

"Wolf..."

"We could do it sandwich-style."

"Wolf..."

"I know you want it. Now's your chance, Foxy."

"Wolf!"

"Alright alright!" Because all good things must eventually come to an end. The lupine scampered to the wild wolf, snapping his jaw to draw her attention. "Excuse me, miss, do you have a minute?"

Out of the blue, Wolf inflated his lungs, and let out a growl sonorous and resonant enough to awaken the dead. His face was torn into a gruesome scowl, revealing the whiteness of his teeth, and his four limbs were tensed and well-anchored, ready to kick back, as his piercing eye urged the female to run off, for her own sake. Upon such a hair-rising performance, the aghast she-wolf had no choice but to decamp, her tail between her legs, abandoning thereby her either way inexistent opportunity to mate. The grey male watched her rushing away, satisfied with his unsurprisingly convincing argument.

"That... Was... Terrifying." The orange canine's tone betrayed a mix of admiration and apprehension.

"Of course it was, that's kinda the point." The lupine shook is fur, casting sand all around him, and briefly stretched his legs, before looking upon their immutable objective, standing on the horizon. They had quite a walk waiting for them. "Enough dilly-dallying. Let's get moving."

* * *

" _Could you stop playing_ _with_ _that pen?_ "

One could hardly blame Nick for his harsh tone. Guard duty always was and always had been a pain in the ass, and things did not went for the best once the Dux Bellorum overthrew the Governing Body, and reduced the staff by a factor of ten. This fortress used to be the definition of order, discipline, impenetrability. A reputation so well-established and deserved, foreign systems were competing to rent, at exorbitant prices, cells for their most critical scoundrels. Sentencing anybody in the FCP (Finstellis' Central Penitentiary) was a guarantee never to see nor hear of him or her ever again, and being amongst its staff was an honourable and respected profession. And well-paid, of course.

But the Dux Bellorum needed soldiers, so he took men where he could find men, and weapons where he could find weapons. You need more guards? Better equipment? A constant flow of supplies? My apology, but I have a ridiculously oversized and mismanaged army to sustain in order to push further the boundaries of my anecdotal and ephemeral empire which will be mentioned in history books solely in footnotes, thereby I invite you to stick your complaints into an orifice I don't need to specify aloud. Such was the warlord's domestic policy, for leading a civilization towards peace and prosperity was none of his goals.

And the FCP in all of this? On its own, like everywhere else. Patrols went sparser, sketchier and more remiss, the ageing infrastructure was barely maintained, and the few remaining members of the staff were reduced to apportion amongst themselves a gruelling amount of work, resulting in twelve hours long shift in the cabin at the top of the entrance tower. It wasn't a well-known fact, but the prison's reputation was henceforth its last robust battlement.

" _I'm loosing my mind._ " George said after a heavy sigh, tossing the pen away and studying it bouncing on the table between the screens, eager to focus his attention on anything moving if it could brush the intense boredom away. " _If I keep taking those shifts, I'_ _m gonna go bunta._ "

" _And your complaints_ _aren't making_ _anything_ _easier._ " Nick kept the binoculars before his eyes as he spoke. Spending hours in this observation deck was already tough enough, but spending those hours with someone as cold as him could lead an unstable person dangerously close to murder.

George swept the cabin with his gaze, internally reviewing all the imaginable option to kill time. Playing mind games? Nick hated them. Writing something? Not the energy to focus. Going for a stroll? By this heat, it might not have had the desired effect. " _How come can you take it so easily? Spending hours perched up here_."

" _Could be worse._ " Nick briefly removed the binoculars to glare at his colleague. " _A cousin of mine had to go fight abroad a rusty destroyer God knows where. We, at least, don't have to worry about our bodily integrity._ "

" _Wuss!_ _I'_ _d_ _gladly_ _exchange positions! At least he's seeing some action!_ " He slouched back in his seat and made it spin around its axis, dimly amusing himself by changing the rotation speed with his posture. " _If_ _an_ _antimatter canon doesn't kill me, boredom surely will_ _anyway_ _._ "

" _Then please be civil and_ _put a sock in it_ _._ " Nick's behaviour was a surprise to nobody. He could have been replaced by a robot without raising suspicion. In fact, according to a rumour, he actually was.

" _You sure ain't a good cobber, y'know that_ _?_ " As he glanced at the guard leant at the window, he noticed a detail he hitherto unconsciously ignored. " _Did your feet grew roots or something? It's been half an hour you're standin_ _g_ _, what's so interesting_ _down there_ _?_ "

Nick let silence settle, muttering something in his beard, looking upon two strange mammals at the feet of the building. " _Do you know anything about animals?_ "

" _Erm... Dromedaries only have on_ _e_ _hump... Platypus are venomous... And that's about it. Why?_ " He dashed over his co-worker when Nick handed him the binoculars and pointed at the ground near the base of the tower.

" _There are two canines over there_ _. I've watched them walking around for, like, twenty minutes_ _. One is a wolf, but I can't figure out what's the other one._ "

George's lips slightly parted when, after combing the sand, he eventually found the aforesaid animals. " _It looks like a fox... But bigger._ "

" _My thought exactly._ _But foxes aren't that big, are they?_ "

" _That would be a first. Maybe..._ _A maned wolf? Nah, they don't look like that..._ " He took the binoculars off and started pensively at the horizon, before turning tail and making his way towards the exit, under the muddled eyes of Nick.

" _The hell are you going at?_ " he asked.

" _Find some better mate_ _s_ _._ " He grabbed a hat and succinctly inspected it, before clamping it on his head. " _Animals around here tend to be friendly, but even if they eat my foot_ _,_ _it would still be more pleasant than sitting around with ya._ "

" _Don't come to me if you get rabies._ " Nick threw at him, unaware of the middle finger he got as a response.

* * *

The beetling construction loomed over the two Lylatians. Two hundreds meters high and thirty metres wide, it was abnormally standing in an otherwise chaotically bumped and orangish landscape, as the canines scrutinised it under all possible angles, seeking for any weakness or irregularities that could ease a soon-to-come prison break. But the sober yet impressive piece of architecture judging them from its height was quite explicit regarding the difficulty of such a task. The dark cladding wasn't keen to let itself being climbed, and almost no orifice was in sight, not even a window. Except for, naturally, the massive plate of steel serving as the main gate.

"Supplies have to come through that thing occasionally." For Wolf, it was futile to look for another way in than... well, the main way in. All other interstices were trifling to him. "We'll just have to jump through when it happens."

In the shade of the tower, Fox kept inspecting the dark wall. "For all we know, it might very well come every year. How long are you ready to wait?"

"Then let's buy a big ass artillery piece and blow the shit outta that door."

"Subtle isn't your middle name, is it." the vulpine replied with a wry smile, knowing his companion was only half-joking. Indeed, himself doubted the fact that an alternative access even existed. But the lack of maintenance was dimly visible, and imperfections could be distinguished here and there. With his snoot, he gestured towards a large chink on the dark surface "What about that opening up there?"

To avoid watching against the light, Wolf rejoined his mate under the shadow, sheltering himself from the vengeful sun. "Didn't you end up covered in shit last time you tried to sneak in a conduct?" His tone failed to hide his laughter.

The orange canine let out a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes. "I knew I should've skipped that part..." He examined the structure further, trying to guess where another defect might occur. He stepped onto the sunlight. "I'm making a last round."

"Do you mind if I just wait here? That heat is killing me."

"Then check that door. Maybe you'll find something useful." Fox threw as he was wandering away.

Wolf sketched out a shrug, remembering he was not to stand on his back paw. "If you wish, but I wouldn't set my expectations too high."

As he approached the reflecting grey gate, after having watched his lover disappear behind the tower, the lupine felt almost overwhelmed by its impressiveness and majesty, as though the gate itself was daring and mocking him, as though it was perfectly aware of its fastness and its impenetrability, as though the lupine was only the last of a thousand men who tried, to no avail, to subjugate it. None passed, and none shall ever pass. The universe could implode all around, the gate would still stand there, proudly, conscious of its noble goal. As Wolf inspected it closely, he expected a misconception, a hackable electronic circuit, or a fissure, amongst other things.

But he certainly did not expect the rattling of the door as it simply opened before him, as if it was conceding defeat before the fight even started.

On instinct, the lupine jumped back and recoiled, his tail swaying nervously, taken by surprise by the sliding motion of the imposing piece of solid steel. A cold breeze, deliciously contrasting with the sultriness of the desert, waved across the grey fur. The doorway soon went large enough to reveal a man, standing in the shadows, a hat stably mounting his head. His weapon, hanging at his belt, was enough to demotivate all kinds of aggressive surprise attack from the grey canine.

The two mammals did not flinch during the first instants they met, as they kept observing their respective encounter, trying to guess his intents. Eventually, the man kneeled down and handed his closed fist.

" _Pspspspsps, c'mere_ _buddy_ _!_ "

 _Fucking serious?!_ thought Wolf to himself. _Not happening, bro_ _, I'm no pet of yours_ _. Not even in dream._

It's only when the man, after having reiterated his coaxing and failing once again to raise a friendly reaction on the lupine's behalf, turned away and was about to regain the inside the tower that something hit Wolf. The door was open. The stalwart, thick, impenetrable door was open. The door was open! But given the human's armament, launching a frontal attack might result in a dead wolf. The Lylatian had to think fast. In no time, the gate would be sealed again, he needed to hold the human's attention until Fox came back, and one way to achieve this is...

No fucking way. Walking naked on four feet was already humiliating enough, but pretending to crave for the touch of one of those primates was beyond the grey canine's tolerance threshold. And yet... Did he have an alternative? The highly off-putting and mortifying option soon became self-evident, as the metal door was about to permanently separate the wolf from the promise of his return home.

The lupine, with great difficulty, swallowed his pride, and let out a high-pitched, canine, affection-begging whine. For a brief moment, during which the human turned and presented to Wolf a face overflowing excitement, the canine could hear the entire universe rolling on the floor and sneering at his incommensurable ridiculousness. The most dreaded pirate of all Lylat, reduced to whine in order to attract the humiliating and patronizing affection of an animal whose distant cousins took great delight in skinning him alive. It seemed the lupine kept sinking lower as the day passed. But at least, it had the desired effect.

" _Aww, so now you're looking for a friend!_ " The guard kneeled once again, and solicited the canine to come closer. As Wolf reacted positively to his invitation, he reviewed what he had learned about the human-pet relationship from Vincent and Laura. The whine? Check. Wagging the tail? Check. Sniffing and licking the hand? Check. Shaking his paw like an obedient dog? The most humiliating, but check. He prayed the skies not to be forced to roll on his back and present his belly, for he wouldn't be able to look at himself in a mirror anymore.

Unaware of the humiliation he was inflicting, the guard scratched the top of the grey-furred head. " _What happened to your eye, mate?_ "

As the human gained in confidence, he became more adventurous with his hand, rubbing the neck and squeezing the cheek of a wolf on the verge of jumping on him and ripping off his throat. However, he always kept a hand near his weapon, making any action from Wolf highly hazardous. Wolf struggled to pretend he enjoyed the touch.

" _What a good fella you are!_ " The guard was too focused on his newly-found friend to notice the arrival of a fox, flabbergasted by the behaviour of both mammals. " _I wish I was allowed to take you inside_ _, you'd make a far better companion than that cunt up there._ "

Fox and Wolf made eye contact. It only took a split second to the vulpine to understand what his companion was attempting. He had to bite his tongue not to explode into laughter upon seeing the fearsome pirate, being petted like a lap dog, throwing at him a murderous glance. The more intense and angry Wolf became, the more the hilarity of Fox grew, to the point where his smile from ears to ears and his twitching body were like a dam threatening to break and blow up their cover. As much as the vulpine desired to prolong this hilarious and embarrassing inter-specie interaction, he nonetheless seized the opportunity and sneaked behind the human, before winking at the lupine.

" _And Nick said approaching the animals on this planet was dangerous..._ "

" _Nick was right._ "

Before George realized the wolf he was petting actually just replied to him, Fox grabbed him by the neck and violently chocked him and pulled him backwards. In an instant, Wolf jumped on the confused guard and managed to clasp his padded fingers on the gun. Once the guard immobilized, the lupine rose up on his back paw, dominating the human from his size, plunged his lone eye into his, and grew a vicious smile, enjoying his revenge for the past humiliation.

" _Who's gonna believe you, uh?_ " was the last thing the guard heard before a single sweep of the blaster knocked him out.

Forestalling any scoff from his orange mate, Wolf injuncted with a sharp and authoritative tone. "Fox, you will forget everything you just saw."

"I... I wish I could..." he replied before putting his paw before his mouth, to attenuate a hysterical laugh. "But that was just _too_ funny!"

Wolf did not share the amusement. "This was _not_ funny!"

"Who's a good boy? Yes you are!" A frank laugh escaped from his muzzle.

"Don't push it!" The grey canine snarled whilst showing his teeth, but nothing could alleviate the vulpine's hilarity. The lupine resorted to an unwanted measure, and snapped his fingers around the orange canine's muzzle before growling right at his face. "I said stop this shit!"

"Mmmphffmm... !"

"Can't taunt anymore, can ya!"

The two canines wrestled a while, grunting, scrambling, perpetuating their juvenile game, almost forgetting in their carelessness about the reason they landed in the first place. A succession of thumping footsteps abruptly interrupted their squabble, as they suddenly recalled the purpose of their expedition. They immediately froze, not even daring to wiggle a whisker, using their four pointy ears to listen carefully to what came to them from within the building. Judging by the quietness, it seemed that the other occupant engaged in a conduct akin to the canines', before breaking the silence.

" _George? Is everything_ _okay_ _down there_ _?_ "

The canines exchanged a brief and intense glance tainted with a hint of panic, as they realized how little time was left for them to act. Whilst multiple thuds kept echoing inside the building, Wolf grabbed the gun and they hastened to dispose the unconscious body aside, whereupon they flattened themselves on either side of the entrance, holding their breath. Inside the tower, the thumping stopped once more.

" _Who's there?!_ "

 _Shit shit shit_ , the Lylatians thought simultaneously. The remaining guard was, with very little doubt, already aiming at the open entrance with a loaded weapon of his own. One wrong move, and a canine would have to return home alone. Wolf endeavoured not to loose his temper, but the shaking tips of his fingers betrayed his overwhelming anxiety. They were on the right path, and a single miscalculated decision would make them irrevocably veer off-track.

" _George, answer me!_ " Every footsteps sounded closer. " _Christ, where's the dimwit at?_ "

If he saw the canines standing at the door, they were dead. If he saw Wolf with the blaster, they were dead. If they attacked, they were dead. But if they waited too long, the door would close once more, and their only opportunity might disappear, never to come back. They needed to act fast, they needed... a distraction. Fox remembered the lupine's strategy. He went on all four again, under the eye of a wolf who silently urged him not to, and slowly revealed himself in the sight of the second guard. Henceforth, improvising was his only option.

" _You better back off._ " The sentence was muttered with more firmness than hostility. George seemed to enjoy the presence animals, so chances were Nick did too. At least, Fox hoped so. However, the weapon pointed at the vulpine and the dogged expression of its holder said otherwise. At this point, Fox's only plan was to approach the human, and either distract him so Wolf could take him from behind, or attack him by surprise. But both roads seemed as uncertain as they could possibly be. He made a few steps towards the guard. The guard raised a finger on the trigger. " _I said back off!_ "

A blaster-shot was heard.

"Fox!!" The detonation wrenched the grey canine from his catalepsy. He stormed into the shadows, his gun threatening to wreak death should the situation oblige him to, unaware of the fact that the shot recently fired was merely a harmless warning. What followed happened too fast to let anyone the time to think and reflect. Upon seeing himself in the firing line, the human changed target. Reflexively, Fox stretched all of his limbs and pounced forwards, trying to seize his arm or his weapon.

Another gunshot ricocheted upon the ground. The weapon was freed from its owner's grasp. Nick used his large hands to hit and choke the canine biting his arm. Fox couldn't do much against a mammal heavier and stronger than him, as a few violent punches stunned him enough for the human to tackle him onto the floor. With the primate's knee crushing his stomach, the vulpine had no choice but to let the hands clamp around his throat and deprive him of oxygen. His heart thumped faster as he started convulsing in the grip of is soon-to-be killer.

It's only when a pair of jaws seized the back of his neck that Nick recalled about the grey-furred canine. He shouted in pain as Wolf's teeth penetrated the flesh and dragged him backwards. Blood started dripping from the wound. Instinctively, he released the vulpine and tried to free himself, but the lupine was bent on making him pay. He withdrew his fangs and, with his paws, threw the primate's head against the concrete floor, before going straight for the now exposed throat. Nick barely saw an enraged and snarling wolf jumping on him before his carotid was torn off from a single bite, spilling blood all over the place.

One would be wrong to assume Wolf lost his mind. No sooner had the primate stopped convulsing, than the lupine reached for his mate. "Fox! Are you hurt?!"

"I'm... I'm okay. More frightened than hurt." The vulpine whispered once the confusion evaporated, rubbing his sore throat. He looked at his mate, and made a vague brushing gesture around his own muzzle. "Wolf... You have blood all over here."

As though he forgot he didn't have sleeves, the grey canine rubbed his mouth with his furred arms, before kneeling next to Fox and gently cupping his cheeks, waiting for both their heartbeats to slow down. Whereupon he helped the vulpine back on his feet, and put his arms around him whilst burying his snout in the crook of his neck. The vulpine relaxed himself, feeling his lover's breath messing with his fur, and hugged the worried lupine back, rubbing his cheek against his. The overwhelming silence accompanied them in their path towards serenity and reason, as they remembered no galaxy was wicked enough to tear them away from each other.

"I love you, Wolfy..." Fox gently loosened his grip, and plunged his emerald eyes into his lover's. "... But you don't need to get over-protective with me."

"Sorry pup, but that's the price for going steady with me." he replied with a smirk, before pushing their lips together. Kissing in the midst of dead bodies seemed to be a thing with them.

"Okay!" Fox clapped his paws. "Change of plan. We bring the humans with us, we might use another pair of hands." He began climbing the stair, whilst his companion stood still, looking upon the fresh carnage.

"Come on, Wolf. We have a jailbreak to carry out!"


End file.
